The yoga pavilion was a bespoke design, conceived specifically for the location, for the purpose. Preliminary design work was done on the site: sketching, measuring the sun path, and imagining the experience of the space at various times of day.
The design team even took an anti-gravity “flying yoga” class together, part of a research trip to get a feel for the practice before designing the space. “We always think about how people will move through and use the spaces as we design, so in this case we had to swing upside down to understand it,” says Elora Hardy, IBUKU Founder.
The key was to create a durable structure that will stand strong for decades, utilizing bamboo’s strengths. Bamboo has the tensile strength of steel, and the compressive strength of concrete, but must be protected from water, so the IBUKU team designed the roof as a big leaf, keeping the pavilion dry and shaded, while tipping up towards the west to let in the sunset light.
