Location: Kerinchi, Kuala Lumpur
Client: CHY Architects Sdn Bhd
SEAD was conceived with the vision of developing the use of bamboo as a reliable structural material. Naturally, building a bamboo bridge has been an aspiration for the company since the early days.
Theproject presented SEAD with an opportunity to not only push the envelope of their design capabilities,but also to challenge the conventional ways of thinking about bamboo construction.
The bridge links two separate sections of the client’s newly built office. The client requested for a combination of natural bamboo aesthetics with innovative steel components.
Many of the steel components had to be custom-built and modified, including a special joinery developed to tighten its grip on the tension members as weight was loaded onto the bridge. The black of the steel components also provided a sharp contrast to the warm, mottled yellow of the bamboo.
On top of that, the prefabricated arch needed to be rigid enough to hold the weight of the bridge and its users ,while being nimble enough that it could be hand-carried through the narrow walkways of the office during construction. The end result was a hub-and-spoke structure that was symmetrical from all sides –an elegant structural expression created from a rugged material.
