Thailand’s All-Bamboo Sports Hall

Thailand just finished building an impressive sports hall constructed entirely out of bamboo. Built for the Panyaden International School in Thailand, Chiangmai Life Architects chose to use an abundant and local natural resource: bamboo. The impressive engineering constructed a building expected to last 50 years.

CLA, which specializes in bamboo and earthen architecture, said, “The brief was to build a hall that should be big enough to hold the projected capacity of 300 students, but still smoothly integrate with the previous earthen and bamboo buildings of the school, as well as the natural hilly landscape of the area. It should provide modern sports facilities and use only bamboo to maintain the low carbon footprint and the Green School mission of Panyaden.”

The woven bamboo is so strong it doesn’t require additional reinforcements. The hall’s layout respects the Buddhist ethos of the school.

“The sports hall utilizes prefabricated bamboo trusses to span more than 17 meters without steel reinforcements or connections. It combines modern organic design, 21st century engineering and a natural material. The bamboo was all well selected for age, and treated with borax salt. No toxic chemicals were involved in the treatment process.”