No, this isn’t a cartoon or a futuristic movie: It’s a six-floor mansion made of bamboo in the jungle in Bali, Indonesia. Here’s how it was designed. insider.com/bamboo-mansion…
As a child, Elora Hardy drew fairy-tale castles in her coloring book.
Now, at the age of 41, she is making them for real. She grew up Ubud, Bali, where babbling rivers, jungle ravines, and artisan-filled villages surrounded her home. insider.com/bamboo-mansion…
Hardy worked as a print designer for Donna Karan in New York City, and then launched the pioneering Bali architecture firm Ibuku, which is known for creating one-of-a-kind buildings from bamboo. insider.com/bamboo-mansion…
In 2010, Hardy left New York and returned to Bali, where she immediately began working with her father’s team to execute his vision of building a village called the Green Village.
Despite having grand plans, the first bamboo house she built was simple. insider.com/bamboo-mansion…
It wasn't long before Hardy was pushing design boundaries – she built her first bamboo mansion by December 2010.
Then, over the next eight years, she built 17 more homes, which are now largely used as second homes by foreigners. insider.com/bamboo-mansion…
The crowning jewel of Hardy's Green Village is the Sharma Springs residence, a six-floor mansion made from seven varieties of bamboo that she built in 2012.
It now claims the title of the tallest bamboo building in Bali. insider.com/bamboo-mansion…
One defining feature of Hardy’s Ibuku firm's homes, which can sell for as much as $1.4 million, is that she blends the needs of a modern family with a natural aesthetic. insider.com/bamboo-mansion…
As for inspiration, Hardy says the bamboo itself, which they collect from ravines on family-owned farms, will often lead the design.
No two pieces are the same and the 18-meter usable length is often one huge curve. insider.com/bamboo-mansion…
Hardy also says the material presents a challenge: "Bamboo constantly requires flexibility, new ways of thinking, and demands bespoke attention to be best expressed." insider.com/bamboo-mansion…
It takes just three years for bamboo — which has the tensile strength of steel — to grow to maturity.
Here’s a school in Thailand made entirely of bamboo.
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