In the east of China, in the urban county of Longquan, three buildings have appeared, which can be called the embodiment of the idea of "back to nature" and - let's add - to national traditions. Two hostels (one for men and the other for women) and a mini-hotel, designed and implemented by the renowned humanitarian and sustainable architecture activist Anna Heringer, are made of the usual Chinese material - bamboo - according to the traditional technology for this country. In shape, all three buildings resemble classic Chinese vases and wicker baskets.
The total building area is 1153 m2… The volumes of the three buildings are not identical, each has an individual silhouette. The core of the building, surrounded by a wicker shell, is made of stone and soil; it contains communications and stairs. Capsules-cocoons are attached to the supporting structure - these are rooms for guests. They are similar to Chinese lanterns and emit light at night. Real fire is used to heat hotels.
Work on the project was carried out from March 2013 to October 2016 as part of the first international biennial of bamboo architecture. In addition to Anna Heringer, 11 more architects were invited to participate in the exhibition. Each presented his own bamboo building to demonstrate the unlimited possibilities of this material. The organizers of the Biennale believe that bamboo has every chance of becoming a worthy alternative to the usual building components - the same concrete. Note that China ranks first in the world rating for the consumption of concrete, and the production of this material is considered hazardous to the environment.
