Bamboo Ring / Kengo Kuma

Architects: Kengo Kuma
Year: 2019
Photographs: Ed Reeve, OPPO, London Design Festival, James Robinson
Design Team: (Kuma Lab): Kengo Kuma, Toshiki Hirano, Kohyoh Yang, Hiroki Awaji, Tomohisa Kawase
Fabrication Team: Alexander Mladenov, Cristina Mordeglia, Luciana Tenorio, Simone Parola, Sarah Wellesley, Valentin Rodriguez de las Cuevas
City: London
Country: United Kingdom

Kengo Kuma’s Bamboo Ring, showcased at the V&A during the London Design Festival 2019, highlights the potential of bamboo and carbon fiber for earthquake-resistant architecture. Installed in the John Madejski Garden, the structure demonstrates the strength and flexibility of these materials when woven together. Kuma described it as “the material of the future,” with applications for disaster-resistant buildings. Created with Ejiri Structural Engineers and Kengo Kuma Laboratory at The University of Tokyo, the bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) rings, reinforced with carbon fiber, were shaped in Japan and transported to London for diagonal weaving into a doughnut-like form raised on one side to create an arch. Positioned in a pool of water and curated by Clare Farrow, the installation reflects Kuma’s innovative material use, seen in projects like the SunnyHills cake shop and Tokyo’s National Stadium.

Japanese architect Kengo Kuma asserts that bamboo and carbon fiber can be combined to create earthquake-resistant architecture, as demonstrated by Bamboo Ring, his installation at the V&A for the London Design Festival 2019. Located in the John Madejski Garden, the structure showcases how rings of bamboo and carbon fiber can be woven together to form exceptionally strong, self-supporting designs.

Kuma described the combination of bamboo and carbon fiber as “the material of the future,” emphasizing its potential for urban applications. “This is a new materiality that we can try to bring to the city,” he stated, suggesting its use in making buildings in Japan more resistant to natural disasters, such as the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and subsequent tsunami. “Both materials are very light,” he explained, “but wood is not resistant enough in an earthquake. By combining it with these carbon fibers, we can create a new kind of strength.”

Kuma developed Bamboo Ring in collaboration with Ejiri Structural Engineers and his Kengo Kuma Laboratory at The University of Tokyo. Curated by Clare Farrow, the installation is situated in a pool of water within the V&A’s garden courtyard. It is designed as a giant doughnut, elevated on one side to form an arch. The structure’s primary component is a two-meter-diameter ring, created by combining strips of bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis)—native to China and Taiwan and also found in Japan—with a layer of carbon fiber. The fusion of bamboo and carbon fiber was carried out by Kuma Laboratory, with contributions from the technology brand OPPO, in the Japanese city of Komatsu. The design team explained that the structure naturally deforms when both ends are pulled simultaneously. Kuma explained their construction process: “Our way of construction is to make the bamboo rings in a factory in Japan. We bend the bamboo first and then glue carbon fiber on behind to make it rigid. Then we transport the rings from Japan to here and weave them in a diagonal way.”

Kuma has also demonstrated his innovative use of wood, including bamboo, in projects such as the SunnyHills cake shop and the National Stadium in Tokyo.