Over the last decade, Bali-based studio Ibuku, headed up by designer Elora Hardy, has become a leading expert in bamboo architecture, its output encompassing everything from a traditional Sumbanese house and a yoga and meditation space to playful treehouses and a riverside café at an eco-friendly jungle retreat in Ubud. In 2021, the studio completed The Arc sports hall at the Green School in Bali (founded by Elora’s father, designer John Hardy). Made from a series of arches spanning an impressive 19m, it was a pioneering feat of bamboo engineering.
Perhaps Ibuku’s most famous project is the Sharma Springs residence, which featured in an episode of the Apple TV series Home. Built around a central tower, its various levels pan out like the petals of a lotus flower. In addition to its structure, everything from the cabinets to the coat hangers was custom-made out of bamboo.
Inside this serene Bali villa
Without experiencing it firsthand, it is hard to believe that just one material can be so versatile. Elora Hardy founded Ibuku in 2010, after returning to Bali (where she grew up) from the US. It was born out of a love for bamboo and as a way to follow in the footsteps of her father, who had just completed the island’s Heart of School building almost entirely out of bamboo. ‘At the time, I was working in New York for Donna Karan, designing prints and getting more and more disillusioned with the fashion industry,’ says Elora. ‘I was amazed at what my father had been up to, and it just made sense that I should take over and continue working with bamboo.’
One of Ibuku’s more recent projects is Uma, a private residence, just outside Ubud, designed in collaboration with studio Earth Lines Architects. While bamboo is a vital part of the building, there are other materials present in this case, such as steel, local stone and even concrete, that give the building its own expression. Located on a former rice terrace, on a site measuring more than 10,000 sq m, the project incorporates several buildings, which, between them, house five bedrooms, eight bathrooms and an underground TV room, and there is also a pool and permaculture garden.
Embracing the island’s warm weather, the main building, which serves as a flowing 300 sq m dining/living area overlooking the lush, leafy environment, is kept fully open on one side. The structures containing bedrooms and offices offer more privacy, balanced with lots of floor-to-ceiling glazing to take in the surrounding nature.
Ibuku’s trademark bamboo is present throughout, from light fixtures to the poles used as formwork for the concrete walls. Most of the bespoke furniture is locally made. The grey palette of the ulin wood façade, terrazzo floor, local paras kerobokan stone and concrete walls match the ceiling’s dark hues, the petrified wood elements and bamboo screens, conjuring up a quietly refined interior. And the relatively monochrome approach makes the greenery of the surrounding rice fields and garden stand out further, creating a strikingly serene setting.
Through its innovative use of bamboo, Ibuku is not only redefining sustainable architecture, but also highlighting the extraordinary potential of this humble material. As the studio continues to push the boundaries of bamboo design, its work stands as a testament to the blend of traditional craftsmanship with contemporary vision.
This article appears in the October 2024 issue of Wallpaper*, available in print on newsstands, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today.
