Singapore Bamboo Competition Winners

The Singapore Bamboo Competiton challenged entrants to design a skyscraper using bamboo as either a structural or cladding element.The proposal had to take into consideration
The design team comprising Di Wang, Alexandru Vilcu and Richard Mui from Canada took the first prize with their proposal “Modularity and Versatility for Complex and Flexible Program”.Their design takes the assumption of flipping a section of a city into a vertical position .

Di Wang, Alexandru Vilcu, Richard Mui (Canada)

The major streets became the vertical shafts whiles the mixed used nature of the section was reflected in the several functions incorporated in the design.Load bearing characteristics of the Bamboo were analysed and pragmatic proposals given to cater for safety and other issues related to high-rise buildings.Their contextual approach to the design make it their proposal sutiable to the conditions in Singapore and could make it an iconic building to add to the skylines of the city.

The second prize won by South Korean team , Beobyeong Park, DongJun Kim, MinSung Kim, SeungGeun Kwak uses the lifecyle of Bamboo as inspiration.The idea is to stimulate the local economy through the use of Bamboo in all its stages of life from Bamboo sprouts,through its use as charcoal.The proposed highrises will serve as vertical bamboo forests of some sought were bamboo will be grown for the market.

Di Wang, Alexandru Vilcu, Richard Mui (Canada)

The third prize went to Milsolav Olejar, Jakub Lenart and Tomas Boros from Canada. Their proposal reminiscent of a hill relies heavily on communication within the building.The natural form allows air to flow freely as well as communication on the contours.The vertical communication consists of cores which are placed at the edges.Each floor has holes of varios sizes that allow for this vertical communication while permiting easy penetration of natural light into the deeper recesses of the skyscraper.
We hope to see more investigation into the use of such natural materials in constructing high rise buildings.