- IBUKU and Atelier One Builds ‘The Arc’ From Slender Parabolic Bamboo Arches and Gridshells
- The Arc's 14 meters tall bamboo arches span across 19 meters in the campus of the world-renowned Green School in Bali, Indonesia.
- Project:
- The Arc
- Location:
- Bali,
- Indonesia
- Architects:
- Atelier One, IBUKU
- Typology:
- Gymnasiums, Recreational Architecture
- Area:
- 760m²
- Images: Tommaso Riva
Designed by IBUKU and Atelier One, The Arc is a new community wellness space and gymnasium for the Green School in Bali. The details of the one-of-a-kind structure was developed over several months of research. The construction of the 23.5 meters wide, 41 meters long structure that towers 14m high, took around 8 months to build. The intricate bamboo structure of The Arc employs one of nature’s greatest strategies for creating large spaces with minimal structure. Similar to how within the human ribcage, a series of ribs are held in place by a tensioned flexible layer of muscle and skin, The Arc’s distinctive structure is formed with thin, parabolic arches that work in compression. These arches are held in place by tensioned anticlastic gridhshells.
“The Arc operates like the ribs of a mammal’s chest, stabilized by tensile membranes analogous to tendons and muscles between ribs. Biologically, these highly tensile microscopic tendons transfer forces from bone to bone. In The Arc, bamboo splits transfer forces from arch to arch.”
-Jörg Stamm
The Arc at Green School – Design Conceptor
Much like other projects by IBUKU, bamboo has been beautifully used in this project utilizing its durability, strength, and malleability. The roof of The Arc appears to be seamlessly enclosing the space, that spans an area of 760 square meters.
“The gridshells use shape stiffness to form the roof enclosure and provide buckling resistance to the parabolic arches. The two systems together create an unique and highly efficient structure, able to flex under load allowing the structure to redistribute weight, easing localised forces on the arches.”
-Neil Thomas
Director of Atelier One
“There is something quite wonderful about ancestral craftsmanship meeting modern construction techniques. To ensure maximum accuracy, the craftsmen worked within a three dimensional coordinate system which enabled a reliable adherence of the gridshells’ curvatures to specific engineering requirements.”
-Jules de Laage
The Arc at Green School – Construction Manager & On Site Architect, IBUKU
