BAMBOO PAVILION

The “Bamboo Pavilion” is a public renovation project that we designed to subvert the perception of a typical public bathroom in Macau, which is dirty, messy, wet and smelly. The project is located at the highest point of the Taipa Grande Hill Park facing the ocean. The original facility was an enclosed building setting apart from the natural surroundings. The “Bamboo Pavilion”, a new design, is built on top of the existing structure and foundation of the bathroom. The idea is to reconnect the broken link between culture, human and nature in a public facility by reorganizing the plan to enhance functionalities, by expanding the space beyond the façade to increase its usage and by selecting appropriate material and tectonics to correspond with its natural surroundings.



In the new design, the bathroom space is turned inside out. Light rays shine through the bamboo-like façade to the interior and the washing basins are opened up to the ocean view by the refraction of glass and mirrors. Natural daylight and ventilation are enhanced by preserving the original skylights and by tailored made slanted windows that integrated openings to increase air flow and cross ventilation. Natural light and breeze bring sense of comfort to people using the bathroom as if sitting in a pavilion on the park.



The façade of the “Bamboo Pavilion” is a re-intrepretation of bamboo scaffolding that Macau construction industry have used for many years. We are trying to illustrate culture of the city through architectural design of a public facility. Hundreds of white aluminum tubes are arranged in a staggered manner surround the structure and are cut in the shape of a hut forming a translucent shell. It is a white bamboo forest from a distance, but there is a building within in a closer look. The white bamboos form a contrast with the green surroundings but its rhythm blends in with the nature harmoniously.

The “Bamboo pavilion” is beyond a renovation project; it is an ideology of reconnecting people and nature with design.