LITERATURE STUDY

ZCB BAMBOO BY :

PAVILION M.SREEKUMARAN
RA1911201010073
01 Site
location and
Context
02
Zoning and
circulation
03
Concepts
04
Design principles
05
Material and
construction
THE ZCB BAMBOO PAVILION IS A PUBLIC EVENT SPACEBUILT FOR THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
COUNCIL’S ZERO CARBON BUILDING (ZCB) IN THE SUMMER OF 2015 IN KOWLOON BAY, HONG KONG.
 SITE LOCATION AND CONTEXT
ANALYSIS
• ARCHITECTS: THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE

THE PROJECT IS THE OUTCOME OF THE CONCERTED EFFORTS OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY
COUNCIL (CIC), THE CHINESE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG (CUHK) AND DIFFERENT
CONTRACTORS. IT WAS DESIGNED BY A RESEARCH TEAM LED BY PROF. KRISTOF CROLLA AT
CUHK’S SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE. THE RESEARCH INVESTIGATES HOW COMPUTATIONAL
DESIGN TOOLS CAN BE STRATEGICALLY INSERTED INTO EXISTING CONSTRUCTION METHODS TO
ALLOW FOR A MORE ENGAGING AND INNOVATIVE ARCHITECTURAL OUTCOME. THE 
ZCB BAMBOO PAVILION SHOWCASES THIS AND ILLUSTRATES HOW THE ENDANGERED
CRAFTSMANSHIP OF BAMBOO SCAFFOLDING CONSTRUCTION IN HONG KONG CAN BE
EXPANDED THROUGH THE INTRODUCTION OF DIGITAL FORM-FINDING AND REAL-TIME PHYSICS
SIMULATION TOOLS. THE PROJECT’S DESIGN IS BASED ON AN ARCHITECTURE STUDENT DESIGN
INTERNSHIP HELD AT THE CUHK SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE. THE DESIGN WAS DEVELOPED
FURTHER BY THE RESEARCH TEAM IN COLLABORATION WITH STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS AND
BAMBOO CONSULTANTS, USING DIGITAL PHYSICS SIMULATION ENGINES, PHYSICAL MODEL
MAKING, AND LARGE-SCALE PROTOTYPING TO DERIVE ITS FINAL FORM.
 BAMBOO IS A WIDELY AVAILABLE, ENVIRONMENTALLY
FRIENDLY MATERIAL THAT GROWS ABUNDANTLY AND AT
REMARKABLY HIGH SPEEDS IN THE ASIA-PACIFIC REGION,
AFRICA AND THE AMERICAS. IT IS AN EXCELLENT
RENEWABLE NATURAL RESOURCE WHICH CAPTURES CO2
AND CONVERTS IT INTO OXYGEN. IT IS STRONG, LIGHT AND
EASY TO PROCESS AND TRANSPORT. IN HONG KONG
BAMBOO MOSTLY APPEARS IN TEMPORARY THEATRES,
SCAFFOLDING, OR STRUCTURES FOR RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS.
GLOBALLY IT IS USUALLY APPLIED AS A SURROGATE FOR
WOOD OR STEEL, RATHER THAN IN WAYS THAT UTILISE THE
MATERIAL’S UNIQUE BENDING PROPERTIES AND STRENGTH.
IN CONTRAST, THE ZCB BAMBOO PAVILION PRESENTS AN
ALTERNATIVE ARCHITECTURAL APPLICATION THAT
MAXIMISE THESE LATENT MATERIAL PROPERTIES.
 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
• IT IS A FOUR-STOREY-HIGH LONG-SPAN BENDING-ACTIVE BAMBOO GRIDSHELL STRUCTURE
WITH A FOOTPRINT OF APPROXIMATELY 350M2 AND A SEATING CAPACITY OF 200 PEOPLE.
• ZCB PAVILION WAS LOCATED ON PLAIN LAND OF KOWLOON BAY .
 SITE LOCATION (FROM GOOGLE EARTH)
ADDRESS:8 SHEUNG YUET RD, KOWLOON BAY, KOWLOON, HONG KONG .

ZCB bamboo pavilion site

Road routes

Possible view to bay

WINDPATH AND SUN
PATH
THE PAVILION LOCATED AT KOWLOON BAY .DUE TO
THIS WIND DIRECTION IS FROM BAY TO LAND. BUT
THE SITE WERE SURROUNDED BY MANY HIGH RISE
BUILDINGS,SO THE WIND FLOW IS PASS THROUGH
THE PASSAGE IN BETWEEN THE BUILDING AND THE
SUN PATH ON THE WINTER SOLTICE HAS LESS
INTEGRATION OF SUNLIGHT ON THE SITE.
CLIMATE , HYDROLOGY AND GEOLOGY

• THE HONG KONG HAS

TROPICAL CLIMATE
LIKE INDIA.THE
TEMPERATURE IS
BETWEEN 32DEG-
27DEG ON SUMMER.
THE SITE 1KM AWAY
FROM KOWLOON
BAY .SO THE GROUND
WATER LEVEL IS GOOD
AND THE SOIL ALSO
GOOD FOR PLANTS TO
ZONING AND CIRCULATION
PAVILION IS SURROUNDED WITH ROADS AND HIGH RISE BUILDINGS. PAVILION WERE PLACED NEAR THE ZERO
CARBON BUILDING.FOUR SIDES OF SITE IS COVERED WITH ROADS.ON THE SOUTH SIDE A FAMOUS BUILDING
CALLED “MEGA BOX” WERE SURROUNDED.
 TOPOGRAPHY
THE SITE WERE LOCATED IN THE
KOWLOON BAY ,HONG KONG.ON
THE EAST SIDE THE MOUNTAIN
WERE SURROUNDED AND ON
THE WEST WITH KOWLOON
ROCK & KOWLOON BAY.ALSO
PAVILION WERE SURROUNDED
WITH VEGETATION AND WITH
HIGH RISE BUILDINGS.
 CONCEPT
DEMAND FOR RESPONSIBLE ECO-FRIENDLY
ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE CONTINUES TO GROW.
THE SEARCH FOR SUSTAINABLE, REGIONALLY
ACCESSIBLE, AND RENEWABLE MATERIALS PLAYS A
VITAL ROLE IN REDUCING THE OVERALL CARBON
FOOTPRINT OF GLOBAL BUILDING PRODUCTION,
ESPECIALLY IN THE MOST RAPIDLY URBANISING
REGIONS OF THE WORLD. BAMBOO IS ONE OF THE
FASTEST GROWING NATURAL CONSTRUCTION
MATERIALS AND IS LOCALLY AVAILABLE IN MOST
OF THE DEVELOPING WORLD, INCLUDING SOUTH
AMERICA, AFRICA, AND ASIA. CERTAIN GIANT
BAMBOO SPECIES SUITABLE FOR CONSTRUCTION
GROW UP TO A METRE A DAY AND CAN BE
HARVESTED IN THREE TO 5 YEAR CYCLES, MAKING
BAMBOO FAR MORE SUSTAINABLE THAN ANY
 CONCEPT

ALTHOUGH BAMBOO HAS BEEN A VERNACULAR CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL

FOR CENTURIES, NATURAL UNPROCESSED BAMBOO POLES ARE HARDLY
INCORPORATED AS A VIABLE STRUCTURAL MATERIAL IN TODAY’S
CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. THE PLANT’S UNIQUE CELLULAR BUILD-UP,
HOWEVER, RESULTS IN A HIGHLY EFFICIENT SECTION PROFILE VERY
SUITABLE FOR USE IN NOT ONLY COMPRESSION OR TENSION, BUT
ESPECIALLY WHEN BEING BENT (SEE THE FIG-1.). YET, WHEN USED, THE
MATERIAL IS MOST COMMONLY EMPLOYED IN PROCESSED FORM OR AS A
TRADITIONAL WOOD OR STEEL MEMBER REPLACEMENT. THIS IS PARTLY DUE
TO THE WIDELY VARYING DIMENSIONAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF
THE PLANT IN ITS NATURAL FORM, AS THESE FOR EXAMPLE MAY DIFFER
WITH VARYING SOIL COMPOSITION OR CLIMATIC CONDITIONS DURING
GROWTH
 DESIGN PRINCIPLES
THE DESIGN PRINCIPLES SUCH AS BALANCE , EMPHASIS,
MOVEMENT ARE ACHIEVED IN THIS PAVILION STRUCTURE.

PAVILION:
• COVERED AREA: 350 M2 (425M2 INCL. FOOTING AREA) 
• FUNCTION: EVENT SPACE
• CAPACITY: 200 PEOPLE
• LARGEST SPAN: 37M
• HEIGHT: 12.3M (FREE HEIGHT OF ARCHES:5.65M)
• WEIGHT: 6,800KG FOR BAMBOO & SKIN. (107,800KG INCL.
FOOTING)
 ELEVATION AND
SECTION
THE PAVILION IS MADE WITH BAMBOO AND
COVERED WITH THE TENSILE WHITE
FABRIC .THE THREE HOLLOW COLUMNS OF
PAVILION STANDS ON THE THREE
CYLINDERICAL CONCRETE FOOTING. THE
WHOLE STRUCTURE IS ON THE PLAIN
SURFACE.
FORM AND STRUCTURE
THE ZCB BAMBOO PAVILION IS THE ORGANIC
FORM MADE UP OF SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL
(BAMBOO).THE WHOLE STRUCTURE IS NOT
DESIGNED WITH CONVENTIONAL DRAWINGS OF
ARCHITECTURE .IT WAS DESIGNED WITH
COMPUTER MODEL AND CONSTRUCTED BY
TRADITIONAL CANTONESE BAMBOO
SCAFFOLDING CRAFTSMANSHIP.
MATERIAL AND CONSTRUCTION
BAMBOO:
•TOTALLY 475 POLES USED
•TOTAL LENGTH: 2956M
•POLE Ø: BASE: 12-15CM, TOP: 8-12CM
•POLE LENGTH: ≈ 7.2M
•TOTAL WEIGHT: 6,350KG AFTER COMPLETE DRYING OF BAMBOO.
(7,100KG IN WET STATE)
•SPECIES: PHYLLOSTACHYS EDULIS (MOSO BAMBOO, MAO ZHU)
•AGE: AVERAGE AGE IS 4 YEARS (BETWEEN 3 AND 5 YEAR OLD
BAMBOO IS USED)

TIES:
•MATERIAL: GALVANIZED METAL WIRE
•TOTAL NO.OF INTERSECTION POINTS: 1107
•TOTAL NO.OF OVERLAPS: 365 (3 TIES PER
OVERLAP)
•TOTAL NO.OF TIES: 3321
 FABRIC:
•TOTAL AREA: 910M2
•NO. OF TRIANGLES: 1278
•TOTAL WEIGHT: 450KG
CONCRETE FOOTING:
•TOTAL NO.OF FOOTING: 3 
•DIAMETER: 5.4M
•HEIGHT: 0.5M 
•WEIGHT: 101 TONNES
CONSTRUCTION
IT IS BUILT FROM 475 LARGE BAMBOO POLES
THAT ARE BENT ONSITE TO SHAPE THE
STRUCTURE AND THAT ARE HAND-TIED
TOGETHER WITH METAL WIRE USING
TECHNIQUES BASED ON CANTONESE BAMBOO
SCAFFOLDING CRAFTSMANSHIP. THE SHAPE IS A
LARGE DIAGRID SHELL STRUCTURE THAT IS
FOLDED DOWN INTO THREE HOLLOW COLUMNS.
THESE COLUMNS REST ON THREE CIRCULAR
CONCRETE FOOTINGS. A TAILOR-MADE WHITE
TENSILE FABRIC IS STRETCHED OVER THE
STRUCTURE AND IS BRIGHTLY LIT FROM INSIDE
THE THREE LEGS.
 THE ZCB BAMBOO PAVILION PROMOTES INNOVATIVE AND
ECOLOGICAL ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TO THE BROADER
PUBLIC AND DESIGN COMMUNITY. IT WILL BE USED TO HOST
EXHIBITIONS, PERFORMANCES AND EVENTS THAT ADVOCATE
LOW CARBON LIVING, CONSTRUCTION, AND DEVELOPMENT.
BY PROMOTING SUSTAINABLE, LIGHT-WEIGHT BUILDING
METHODS FOR LARGE SPAN ARCHITECTURE THE PROJECT
SEEKS WAYS FOR TRADITIONAL CANTONESE
CRAFTSMANSHIP TO EVOLVE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY.
TH A N K Y O U