Cities of the Future Could Be Made out of Growing Bamboo

A City Made of Bamboo

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Design studio Penda has revealed its plans for a city made using innovative modular bamboo structures. These plans are displayed in the firm’s recently unveiled CGI renderings, which showcase structures built from interlocking bamboo rods that form x-shaped joints held together by lengths of rope, a framework that the Beijing and Vienna-based studio first developed in 2014 for a flexible modular hotel. The studio soon moved on to designing larger constructions.

The design’s components could be supplied by the Anji County in China, which is one of the world’s largest exporters of bamboo. If set into place, the region would be able to host a new community that can grow to a habitat for 20 families within the first nine months, says Penda co-founders Dayong Sun and Chris Precht. They continue, “As the number of inhabitants keeps growing, the structure gets extended to accommodate multiple communal spaces, bridges and even floating structures.”

The team notes that, as the community grows, so does the habitat. By 2023, Penda wants to expand the structure to accommodate 20,000 residents.

Sustainable Construction

Sun and Precht explain the use of this method, saying “We believe that in present times a sustainable way of construction is more valuable than ever.”

They go on to say that “the current state of irresponsible city planning, air-pollution and economic crisis asks the architecture profession to rethink the process of building. The use of natural materials like bamboo, connected to a smart modular system, gives a structure freedom to grow in every direction.”