Bamboo with carbon fibre. Bamboo (竹) Ring: Weaving into Lightness by Kengo Kuma

Called Bamboo (竹) Ring, or ‘Take-wa 竹わ’, the structure shows how rings of bamboo and carbon fibre can be woven together to create extremely strong, self-supporting structures. Acording Kengo Kuma, this is "the material of the future, his is a new materiality that we can try to bring to the city."

Kengo Kuma, working with Ejiri Structural Engineers and the Kengo Kuma Laboratory at The University of Tokyo, the installation is an exploration of pliancy, precision, lightness and strength: by pulling two ends, it naturally de-forms and half of the woven structure is lifted into the air.

Bamboo has been used traditionally in Japanese architecture in part due to its linearity and flexibility, and as a symbol of strength and rapid growth. The basic component of the structure – a 2m-diameter ring – is made from strips of the bamboo Phyllostachys edulis. By combining carbon fibre, a contemporary material, with the traditional material of bamboo and laminating each ring, the resulting effect achieves a certain rigidity while maintaining the unique material properties and beauty of bamboo – a remarkable, sustainable material that resonates with Kuma’s childhood memories and looks into the future of architecture.