‘green school’ by PT bamboo pure, bali, indonesia all images courtesy of green school

after meeting in indonesia, john hardy and his wife cynthia conceived of the ‘green school,’ an educational village community amongst the jungle and rice fields of bali, to spread their sustainable altruistic message through an alternative education system to locals and foreigners alike. they called on balinese practice PT bamboo pure to work out the technical design aspects of the entirely bamboo structure. the plentifully supplied asian wood was utilized to benefit from the potential of all its properties to become structural, decorative, recreational, used as flooring, seating, tables and several other fixtures. the local vernacular finds a new relationship fused with contemporary design strategies throughout the assembly of the components that make up the entire campus.

the design of the ‘heart of green school’ finds itself anchored around three lineally located nodes from which all other programmatical elements radiate in a spiraling organization. at each anchor point, interweaving bamboo light columns span the full height of the structure ending in a wooden ring framing a skylight with intricately ornate mullions. a fluid helical thatch roof stems from each main vertical support corkscrewing to allow light to reach every space, with deep overhangs to protect the open air interior. three main staircases serve three floors with multi-functional areas and varying levels of privacy to accommodate the various activities.

recreational fields outside of the main building: ‘heart of green school’

several rice fields, gardens, a fish pond and compost toilets allow the institution itself to become a teacher of sustainability for the village. international and regional artists who visit often times organize activities in which the structure and spaces are decorated, and in a sense designed, by the students; a harp was even installed on several of the wood columns converting them into musical instruments for anyone to play, making the entire construct an integrative experience directly resonating with its educational principles.

open ground floor provides a varying series of spaces

large interior spaces organized radially around the central columns

second floor multi-use space

spiraling bamboo stairs

spiraling roof structure allows daylight inside

view through the interweaving vertical light columns

bamboo constitutes structural elements as well as partitions, seats and tables

structural bamboo is engraved with the names of supporting organization

harps integrated into the structural components

classroom in tent structure

bridge linking the several buildings

mepantigan roof structure

the newest addition, the mepantigan event center, is a common hall for the school and community to hold festivals, reunions and activities. the large oval footprint is delineated by natural stones on a compacted earth ground forming three tiers of seating in an arena-like fashion. a bamboo structure extends from the ground supporting a large canopy split longitudinally by a skylight for ample illumination.

mepantigan structure

local roof construction techniques

construction of satellite structures

traditional tools and methods are used in the detailing of the construction

floor plan / level 0

floor plan / level 1

floor plan / level 2

elevation

elevation

mepantigan site plan

mepantigan section

mepantigan elevation

mepantigan elevation

for additional photos of the construction, see the green school’s flickr page here.