Panyaden International School in Thailand was in need of a bigger assembly space and an indoor sports facility that would keep students from getting wet in the rainy season and keep them cool on hot summer days.
The project, designed by Chiangmai Life Construction, provides space for futsal, volleyball, basketball, and badminton as well as a stage. In addition to the standard size courts there are also game lines for three smaller mini-volleyball and badminton practice courts for younger students.
But it isn’t the space that makes the building unique, or the fact that its overall design resembles a rebel trooper’s helmet from Star Wars (the architect says the design concept originated from the lotus flower, which is a nod to the school’s Buddhist values). What makes the building unique are the materials used to create it. Or, more specifically, the material used to create it.
Photo courtesy of Chiangmai Life Construction.
The entire 8,417-sf structure was created from bamboo. Spans of 15 meters were created with bamboo trusses that were pre-built on the floor and lifted into place by crane. These 15-meter spans, with equal height, were created without any steel reinforcements. Two engineers calculated the loads, tensions, and sheer forces in order to design and build the structure according to 21st century engineering practices. The building can withstand high-speed winds and earthquakes.
The space is naturally ventilated and lit through openings between the three-layered roof. Adding to the project’s core mission of creating a green building, a zero-carbon footprint was achieved due to the bamboo absorbing more carbon than what was emitted during treatment, transport, and construction.
For more images, click here.
Related Stories
| Feb 22, 2012
Suffolk awarded Boston post office renovation project
Renovation of art deco landmark will add 21,000 square feet of retail and 110 new parking spaces.
| Feb 20, 2012
Comment period for update to USGBC's LEED Green Building Program now open
This third draft of LEED has been refined to address technical stringency and rigor, measurement and performance tools, and an enhanced user experience.
| Feb 17, 2012
Tremco Inc. headquarters achieves LEED Gold certification
Changes were so extensive that the certification is for new construction and not for renovation; officially, the building is LEED-NC.
| Feb 15, 2012
Code allowance offers retailers and commercial building owners increased energy savings and reduced construction costs
Specifying air curtains as energy-saving, cost-cutting alternatives to vestibules in 3,000-square-foot buildings and larger has been a recent trend among consulting engineers and architects.
| Feb 8, 2012
World’s tallest solar PV-installation
The solar array is at the elevation of 737 feet, making the building the tallest in the world with a solar PV-installation on its roof.
| Jan 31, 2012
Chapman Construction/Design: ‘Sustainability is part of everything we do’
Chapman Construction/Design builds a working culture around sustainability—for its clients, and for its employees.
| Jan 19, 2012
LEED puts the 'Gold' in Riverside golden arches
McDonald's restaurant recognized for significant energy savings.
| Jan 15, 2012
Hollister Construction Services oversees interior office fit-out for Harding Loevner
The work includes constructing open space areas, new conference, trading and training rooms, along with multiple kitchenettes.
| Jan 15, 2012
Smith Consulting Architects designs Flower Hill Promenade expansion in Del Mar, Calif.
The $22 million expansion includes a 75,000-square-foot, two-story retail/office building and a 397-car parking structure, along with parking and circulation improvements and new landscaping throughout.
| Jan 9, 2012
Thornton Tomasetti acquires green consulting firm Fore Solutions
International engineering firm launches new building sustainability practice.