Bamboo Forest / VTN Architects

Architects: VTN Architects
Area: 97 m²
Year: 2015
Photographs: Yoshifumi Moriya
City: Minato
Country: Japan

The Bamboo Forest pavilion by VTN Architects in Tokyo highlights bamboo’s potential as a sustainable material and promotes urban greenery. Built for the 30th-anniversary exhibition “The Asian Everyday: Possibilities in the Shifting World” at TOTO GALLERY MA, it uses Vietnamese bamboo that is treated traditionally and assembled in Japan. Constructed by four Vietnamese staff and over 50 volunteers using bamboo pegs and rope, the structure features intersecting grids, eleven arches for walkable spaces, and thirty-one boxes housing living bamboo, reflecting VTN’s vision of reconnecting cities with nature.

The bamboo pavilion was built for the 30th-anniversary exhibition “The Asian Everyday: Possibilities in the Shifting World” at TOTO GALLERY MA, one of Japan’s most influential galleries for architecture and design, located in Tokyo. Vo Trong Nghia Architects (VTN) selected a species of bamboo native to Vietnam to showcase the traditional process of constructing their bamboo structures.

The bamboo stalks were treated using traditional methods in Vietnam before being transported to Japan for assembly. During the construction process, four Vietnamese staff worked alongside volunteer students in Tokyo, demonstrating the technique of building bamboo structures without the use of metal joints, relying solely on bamboo pegs and rope. Over the course of three weeks, the participation of more than 50 international volunteers transformed the construction into a lively and bustling event.

The pavilion is entirely constructed from bamboo and consists of three primary elements. The “Grid” forms the overall volume through the intersection of two grids. The “Arch” includes eleven arches inserted into the grids, creating an open, walkable space within the pavilion. The “Box” comprises thirty-one boxes that stabilize the structure while housing living bamboo plants. This integration of greenery reflects VTN Architects’ commitment to reintroducing nature into urban environments. Visitors are encouraged to explore the vast potential of bamboo as a sustainable material and to imagine the possibilities of incorporating greenery into cityscapes.