The school asked us to design and build a bamboo canopy which would bring shading to the bleachers along the sports field and create a space in the back which would welcome events in the evening, proper lighting was therefore considered. The design was based on several key factors from the site.
The overall grid of the structure was fit perfectly in place to allow for unobstructed circulation, alignment with existing walkways in the garden, the shape of the green spaces, and accessibility. The dimensioning of the overhang was shaped to maximize coverage over the bleachers throughout the year. Because the space allocated to the structure was linear, this became an opportunity to play with parallax effects.
The two rows of columns were shifted to create a diamond shaped grid. When the structure is seen in perspective from an oblique angle, it looks disarranged, however when it is observed from the front or the side, there seems to be a rhythm that ties the different architectural elements together. This effect was amplified by the columns branching out to support the roofing.
The overall style of the intervention was intended to be bamboo neo-brutalism, which naturally seemed to us like a desirable fitting shape for a sports center, accentuating the geometric shapes of the game lines. The steel prefabricated footings were specifically designed to give the structure a sense of lightness and elegance. The colors were carefully chosen to emphasize the natural yellowish tone of the bamboo, black metal elements, brown covers, and white tarpaulin roofing sheets.
