42,000 Bamboo Shoots Form Impressive Welcome Center at Vietnamese Resort

Vo Trong Nghia Architects - Grand World Phu Quoc Welcome Center

Using 42,000 bamboo shoots, Vo Trong Nghia Architects has created an impressive welcome center for the Grand World Phu Quoc. Sustainability is at the heart of the Vietnamese firm's design philosophy and this project is the culmination of its use of bamboo. Combining arches, domes, and grids, the firm has created a centerpiece for the resort with a design rooted in the country's culture.

With a footprint of over 15,000 square feet, the center cuts an imposing figure and is immediately noticeable as guests enter the resort area. Charged with designing a structure that embodies Vietnamese culture, the firm concentrated on two traditional symbols—the lotus and the bronze drum.

To put together the welcome center, the architects harnessed the knowledge they have cultivated when using bamboo in previous projects. They used a hybrid system with interlocking layers to create a stable structure that also feels open and allows natural light to filter in. Incredibly, all the bamboo is held together using only ropes and pins.

Interior of Welcome Center at the Grand World Phu Quoc

“The transparency of the space with the surrounding grid system, along with the arch pathway throughout the whole structure, link the inside and the outside,” shares the firm. “The light comes in beautifully and, along with the natural color of bamboo, creates a warm and intimate atmosphere, even though the structure is very open in terms of airflow.”

Within this precise grid, a lotus and drum have been sculpted using arches and domes. This contrast of soft and hard edges gives an element of surprise to people entering the space. And at night, when the structure is lit from within, a soft glow enhances the space and allows for a different perspective on the construction.

All told, the Grand World Phu Quoc Welcome Center is a stunning showcase for the architectural possibilities of bamboo. And it has allowed Vo Trong Nghia Architects to once again show that this low-cost, sustainable material can work well in the creation of cutting-edge, contemporary architecture.

Vo Trong Nghia Architects used 42,000 bamboo shoots to create a welcome center at a resort in Vietnam.

Vo Trong Nghia Architects - Grand World Phu Quoc Welcome CenterVo Trong Nghia Architects - Grand World Phu Quoc Welcome Center

Grand World Phu Quoc asked the firm to create something that embodied Vietnamese culture.

Interior of Welcome Center at the Grand World Phu QuocVo Trong Nghia Architects - Grand World Phu Quoc Welcome Center

So two important cultural symbols—the lotus and the bronze drum—were sculpted inside the structure.

Interior of Welcome Center at the Grand World Phu Quoc

The bamboo is held together using only ropes and pins—a feat of engineering.

Vo Trong Nghia Architects - Grand World Phu Quoc Welcome CenterVo Trong Nghia Architects Bamboo Architecture

For the firm—which is known for using the sustainable material in its architecture—the project is a culmination of its experience with bamboo.

Vo Trong Nghia Architects - Grand World Phu Quoc Welcome Center

Vo Trong Nghia Architects: Website | Facebook | Instagram

All images via Hiroyuki Oki. My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Vo Trong Nghia Architects.

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Jessica Stewart

Jessica Stewart is a Contributing Writer and Digital Media Specialist for My Modern Met, as well as a curator and art historian. Since 2020, she is also one of the co-hosts of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. She earned her MA in Renaissance Studies from University College London and now lives in Rome, Italy. She cultivated expertise in street art which led to the purchase of her photographic archive by the Treccani Italian Encyclopedia in 2014. When she’s not spending time with her three dogs, she also manages the studio of a successful street artist. In 2013, she authored the book 'Street Art Stories Roma' and most recently contributed to 'Crossroads: A Glimpse Into the Life of Alice Pasquini'. You can follow her adventures online at @romephotoblog.
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