bamboo fences

author: isao yoshikawa
publisher: princeton architectural press
year: 2009
size: 160 pages, 20.3 x 22.9 cm
isbn: 978-1-56898-834-4

http://www.papress.com
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designboom rating:
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bamboo has emerged as the building material of choice for the twenty-first century.
five times stronger than concrete and flexible enough to be woven like a silk,
bamboo has for millennia been an indispensable resource for cultures around
the world.

content
bamboo's abundance and extreme durability has made it a natural choice as a raw material
for fences and partitions. 'bamboo fences' provides a detailed survey of the art of
fence design in japan, from those used in your garden to larger scale wall structures.
the history of bamboo and its use is supported by 250 images which showcase the versatility
and material aesthetics of the wood. more than twenty different fence designs described,
all classified by type, from the common 'four-eyed fence' (yotsume-gaki) to the expensive
'spicebush fence' (kuromoji-gake), giving a good overview of the craft. there is also a glossary
which has explanations of japanese fence names and structural terms, as well as technical drawings
of the designs to better understand their complexity.

is it for me?
this book is for those who have a strong appreciation for well crafted design and construction.
beautifully illustrated, it provides a good overview of bamboo as a structural material and its
technical fence applications.

five-tiered komayose


standard four-tiered komayose


torch fence (taimatsu-gaki) is a broadly speaking, a piece of bamboo fence with vertical pieces made of bush clover or spicebush branches
bundled in the shape of a torch.


namazu fence


rectangular sprials provide a graphic aesthetic to the natural material


top: an agesudo suspended from a large shiorido
bottom: the same agesude, raised with a bamboo polea to let guests in



somewhat small but refined, katsura wing fence and shiorido (rakushisha, kyoto)