Because it’s not the quake that kills them; it’s the building. Why do we make unsafe buildings? Don’t we learn anything from nature that has produced excellent examples of perfect shelters?

One of Prof. Bando’s presentation slides, showing viruses, ‘sheltered’ by their forms

These questions were often heard recently at our department, Industrial Design at ITB, during lectures by Professor Takaaki Bando, from Science of Design Department, Musashino Art University, Tokyo, who has been staying for almost one year in Bandung. His passion toward biomimicry, Buckminster Fuller’s concepts, bamboo and structures is obvious from his energy during the presentations. Now that his one-year period at ITB is almost up, as a closure Prof. Bando conducts a Bamboo Shelter Project. He’ll deliver an open lecture concerning this project so, comprehensive explanations should come from him, but as far as I know, this project is a realization of a shelter concept that is save for people living in it during quakes, flood, and such. The form is obviously a slight modification of a Bucky Ball, which is strongly inspired by structures of virus molecules and the form of Apollo 11 that landed the first human on the moon in 1969 (Prof. Bando has also delivered a lecture concerning interconnected inspirations within the history of great designs).

Detail of the structure’s joint system

This project involves not only students from Industrial Design department, but also from other departments in ITB such as Architecture, Interior Design, Visual Art, Aerospace Engineering, and Civil Engineering.

The realization itself is not without challenge. First, it was the supply of material – in less than one week, around 800 sliced bamboo had to be provided, cut according to the precise, required measurements. A number of requirements had to be compromised, among others concerning the bamboo slices: initially, the skin of the bamboo should still be intact, which was not possible considering the amount of wasted slices that would be generated while lots of slices are needed. This skinless-bamboo condition might affect the strength of the structure, but we’ll never know for sure until we try it full scale. All other flaws, especially the detailed, technical ones that are happening during the building process, are not ones that can’t be solved, and they added to the valuable experience.

How the shelter looked on Day-3: still completing the ball shape, before inserting the platform (support) into the ball

Although not fully equipped with ‘real’ dwelling facilities, this bamboo structure serves as a model of a safe shelter. As Prof. Bando mentioned in one of his lectures, “Design does not explain how society is, but how it can be”. This bamboo shelter is surely the beginning of a process in discovering how humanity may thrive and cope with extreme global changes. So- let’s discuss some more: you’re all welcome to attend Prof. Bando’s lecture on Monday, 26 March 2012 at FSRD ITB!