Vo Trong Nghia – Bamboo Stalactite Pavilion | 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale

Vo Trong Nghia Architects, the Bamboo Stalactite pavilion at the 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale. Photo © Riccardo Bianchini7Inexhibit

Vo Trong Nghia – Bamboo Stalactite Pavilion | 2018 Venice Architecture Biennale

At the 16th Venice Architecture Biennale, acclaimed Vietnamese architect Vo Trong Nghia (born in 1976 in Phú Thủy, Vietnam) presents a beautiful temporary pavilion named Bamboo Stalactite.
As part of the exhibition at the Arsenale curated by Grafton Architects, the pavilion is installed on the waterfront area near the press pavilion and provides a very appreciated relaxation and meditation space for the visitors of this year’s Biennale.

Using his favorite building material, Vo Trong Nghia designed an iconic architecture entirely made of bamboo, which demonstrates the exceptional aesthetic and technical results that can be achieved through that material.
The dense bamboo mesh of the pavilion canopy provides an effective shading effect which, together with several orange-color lounge chairs, contributes to creating a pleasant and relaxing “free space” overlooking the Venetian Arsenal’s water basin.
Nghia’s pavilion is composed of a sequence of “vaults” made by bending and assembling a large number of bamboo stalks, firmly bound together using only natural fiber strings and ropes. Though light-weight and airy, the pavilion actually resembles a sort of protective and welcoming cavern marked by a sequence of wooden “stalactites” running from floor to ceiling.

Structurally, the construction resembles other, larger works of Vo Trong Nghia, such as the Ting Xi Bamboo Restaurant in China and the Castaway Island Resort in Vietnam; though, the Bamboo Stalactite pavilion, in its simplicity, is possibly even more iconic than them.

Pictures

The pavilion consists of a sequence of parabolic groin vaults made entirely in bamboo.
Photos © Inexhibit, 2018

The bamboo mesh of the pavilion creates a beautifully shaded sitting area overlooking the Venetian Arsenal. Photos © Inexhibit, 2018

The bamboo stalks are connected by ropes and strings; the bamboo species traditionally adopted in Vietnamese architecture (such as those of the Dendrocalamus and Phyllostachys families) are particularly suitable as building materials due to their high resistance.
Photos © Inexhibit

Several upholstered lounge chairs are placed under the pavilion’s canopy for the relaxation of the Biennale’s visitors. Photos © Inexhibit, 2018.