The Nine Most Beautiful Bamboo Buildings in the World.
Lightweight, durable, and abundant, bamboo is one of the greenest building materials on earth, making bamboo buildings among the most sustainable. The fibrous grass rivals steel when it comes to tensile strength, but perhaps its greatest asset is how fast it grows (some species can grow up to 2.9 feet a day), allowing it to quickly regenerate after harvesting and absorb more carbon than most trees.
Though there’s been a long tradition in Asia of using bamboo to build temporary structures like scaffolding and event spaces, a new generation of architects and designers is exploring the renewable material’s potential to create schools, hotels, homes, restaurants, and other long-lasting buildings that are just as sustainable as they are stunning. Using various techniques, such as sustainably harvesting mature bamboo culms, treating them with borax/boric acid to ward off insects, and innovating on existing gridshell methodologies (a structural system based on tension in a lattice frame), architectural firms are showcasing the vast capacities of what is often considered a basic material.
The resulting buildings are biophilic masterpieces that inspire a feeling of being one with nature. From a cocoon-like treehouse in Bali to an overwater restaurant in the Maldives, these structures are a testament to nature’s bounty. Below, we share nine of the most beautiful bamboo buildings in the world. AD Mag
The Arc at Green School (Bali, Indonesia)
Over the past decade, Bali-based design and architecture firm Ibuku has built more than 100 unique bamboo structures in Indonesia and abroad. One of its most recognizable projects is the Arc, a wellness space and gymnasium created for Green School in 2021. The engineering marvel features a series of bamboo arches spanning more than 62 feet. While most buildings of this size require trusses to function, the Arc uses anticlastic gridshells that derive strength by curving in different directions, allowing the team to achieve an unprecedented lightness of form. While the eco-minded school could have been built out of reclaimed wood, Green School founders, designers, and environmentalists John and Cynthia Hardy selected bamboo—not just for its accessibility but also its symbolism. “Bamboo lets us reach for bounty in a world where we’re often aspiring to luxuries considered precious because they are rare or scarce,” says Elora Hardy, creative director of Ibuku. “It’s a material that’s abundant and available and by adding layers of human ingenuity, design, engineering, skill, and craftsmanship, we can create value out of it.”
Yakitori Restaurant and Bar at Banynan Tree Vabbinfaru.
The Maldives is renowned for its incredible marine life, so it is no surprise Rotterdam-based Atelier Nomadic took inspiration from the region’s otherworldly sea creatures when designing a restaurant for Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru in 2023.
The curved, bioclimatic structure, called Madi Hiyaa (meaning “ray” and “shelter” in the Dhivehi language), pays homage to the pink whip rays that graze in the surrounding lagoon. In addition to a dining area, the project features a seawater infinity pool, overwater nets, and a shingled “tail” that links the building to the mainland. The curved shape is created by a series of hyperbolic paraboloid columns and roof trusses, with Dendrocalamus asper (giant bamboo) used for the primary structure and the smaller Gigantochloa apus bamboo used for the grid infill. Contrasting Gigantochloa atroviolacea (black bamboo) clads the bar and service blocks. As an ambassador at the World Bamboo Organization, Atelier Nomadic’s lead architect, Olav Bruin, wanted to demonstrate the potential of using the sustainable material in an iconic and delicate ecosystem.
Luum Temple at Luum Zama
Tulum’s growing popularity as a tourism destination has highlighted the need for more sustainable design—which is exactly what Co-Lab Design Office is aiming to promote. Built from bamboo harvested from the state of Chiapas, Luum Temple is an open-air wellness studio nested within a residential development called Luum Zama
The shape pays homage to Felix Candela’s concrete shells, with five catenary arches that support each other while symbolically representing the community’s focus on collaboration and interdependence within a fragile ecosystem. While many developments lead to clear-cutting of the region’s jungle, Luum Zama has conserved much of the existing vegetation on its 20-acre property and implemented a reforestation program. Nestled within a protected area of native jungle, accessible only by foot, the awe-inspiring space hosts yoga classes, meditation workshops, and community gatherings. The structure itself is a work of art, with a framework bound by two continuous layers of tightly woven bamboo lattice interlaced in opposite directions for structural integrity.
Bamboo Sports Hall at Panyaden International School. Chaing Mai Thailand
Modeled after the shape of a lotus, the sports hall at Panyaden International School combines organic forms, modern engineering, and one of Thailand’s most readily available materials—bamboo. The floral design ties into the school’s Buddhist curriculum while simultaneously blending into the area’s hilly topography. At over 8,400 square feet, the space provides ample room for basketball, volleyball, futsal, and badminton courts, plus a stage for shows and special events. Chiangmai Life Architects designed the hall in 2017 with the help of two independent engineers to ensure the structure could withstand high-speed winds, earthquakes, and other natural forces, as well as provide natural ventilation and insulation. The result is an innovative design—without any steel enforcements—featuring prefabricated bamboo trusses that span more than 55 feet. Since the bamboo chosen has absorbed more CO2 during its growth cycle than what was emitted during construction, the structure is carbon-negative.
Tree House at Bambu Indah
When you imagine the quintessential jungle resort in Bali, Bambu Indah is likely what comes to mind. The eco-friendly boutique hotel in Ubud is home to several whimsical bamboo houses—including the award-winning Riverbend House and Moon House—nestled into the terraced landscape of the Sayan Ridge.
Among its most enchanting accommodations is its tree house, completed in 2021, which sits high above the branches of the wild Bayan trees. The structure was designed by Chiara and John Hardy with engineering support from Neil Thomas of Atelier One. Resembling a basket, its curved walls cocoon guests while still welcoming daylight and a natural breeze through skylights and windows. An inviting spiral staircase leads to two large pods with interiors designed by Ibuku. Inside, guests can relax in cloud-like beds draped with muslin mosquito necks and take in the 180-degree views of the surrounding jungle. There’s even an elegant shower room with hanging bamboo trays and copper basins. A bamboo elevator, suspension bridges, and stone staircases connect the house to the resort’s other amenities, including a series of natural spring-fed pools on the edge of the Ayung River.
Grand World Phu Quac Welcome Center
Comprising of 42,000 bamboo culms, the Grand World Phu Quoc Welcome Center represents a feat in both size and complexity. At nearly 16,000 square feet, the structure forms the gateway to the entertainment and shopping complex within the Phu Quoc United Center—and is built entirely out of bamboo, which thrives in Vietnam’s tropical climate.
Vietnamese practice Vo Trong Nghia Architects (VTN) has a long history of using bamboo, which it calls "the green steel of the 21st century," for large-scale projects. In this case, a hybrid structural system made up of arches, domes, and grids creates a dense yet partially transparent canopy that allows natural ventilation and warm-toned light to permeate the interiors. Meanwhile, the center’s vaulted open spaces offset the intricacy above, inviting guests to marvel at the interlocking poles masterfully joined together with ropes and bamboo pins. Symbols of traditional Vietnamese culture, such as the shape of a lotus and bronze drum, were sculpted into the gridwork to provide visitors with a sense of place.
Naviva, A Four Seasons Resort
The art of the hotel arrival is taken to a new level at Naviva, a Four Seasons Resort in Punta Mita, Mexico. Rather than a standard hotel lobby, the first impression is a bamboo tunnel that transports guests onto 48 acres of lush tropical forest with just 15 luxury tented accommodations.
The walkway features a lattice bamboo weave resembling a caterpillar crawling into a cocoon—symbolizing the guests’ transition from the busy modern world into the wellness oasis. Design studio Luxury Frontiers, which specializes in light-footprint resorts, relied primarily on organic materials such as bamboo, copper, reclaimed wood, and local stone for the project. “Naviva’s biophilic concept was also about creating a patina through selected materials, so the aging of the copper and bamboo over time will ensure that nature plays a role in ‘taking over’ the built structures in some way,” said the firm, which tapped Mexico-based Bamboo Architecture Company to help with the fabrication. Other standout uses of bamboo at Naviva include the intricate entrance of the on-site restaurant, Copal, and the spa pods, shaped like the seed of the native Ceiba tree.
Piyandeling Complex (West Java Indonesia)
The imaginative Piyandeling complex in the remote village of Merakwangi in Indonesia consists of three components: a private family building, a community gathering hall, and a multiuse commercial space. Indonesian studio Realrich Architecture Workshop (RAW Architecture) used a combination of traditional and modern approaches to bamboo design. In the residence, bamboo craftsmanship is integrated into a modular space through decorative carvings, floor and ceiling finishes, and even door handles. The bricolage concept lays atop a river stone foundation, and recycled plastic paneling offers extra protection from the elements. In the second building, a two-story structure with an open-air hall, 13- to 16-foot bamboo grids are covered by a palm leaf-covered roof—a nod to local vegetation. Featuring elaborate balustrades of bent bamboo that take a hyperboloid form, the project highlights how bamboo craftsmanship can showcase elegance, strength, and incorporate both the past and future
Tree Houses at Playa Viva Jaluchuca, Mexico
Eschewing the big box resort model, eco-luxe Playa Viva offers an idyllic, nature-immersive escape on Mexico’s Pacific coast. Adding to its allure are six bamboo treehouses, completed in 2021, which sit on coconut palms scattered across a gorgeous white-sand beach.
Designed by Atelier Nomadic, the structures echo the shape of the mobula rays that migrate past the beachfront property. And thanks to their open-air design and elevated position, guests can fully enjoy the view of the surf. Made out of bamboo sourced from Mexico and Colombia, the structures feature hyperbolic paraboloid roofs and prefabricated panels erected by bamboo master Jorg Stamm and a team of local craftspeople. The treehouses perfectly align with the ethos of B-Corp-certified Playa Viva, which generates 100% of its energy from solar power. The property is expanding its bamboo production to include 100 new clumping patches, ensuring an even greener future for development in the area.