traditional bamboo scaffolding and tea-waste panels shape impromptu projects’ pagoda in macau

Impromptu Projects erects Bamboo Pagoda along Sai Van Lake

Sited on the shoreline of Sai Van Lake in Macau, Bamboo Pagoda is a 13-meter-tall temporary pavilion designed by local practice Impromptu Projects, led by Rita Machado and João Ó. The installation draws directly from Macau’s vernacular bamboo scaffolding, a building technique listed on the city’s Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2017, reinterpreting construction-grade craft into a contemporary waterfront pavilion for contemplation.

OCTAGONAL SKELETON INTEGRATES TRANSLUCENT BAMBOO FABRIC SKIN

The design by Impromptu Projects studio references classical pagoda geometries and Taoist concepts of equilibrium, structured over an octagonal footprint that tapers as it ascends. Slender structural bamboo culms form the exposed load-bearing skeleton, bound using traditional scaffolding lashing methods. A semi-translucent skin of bamboo fabric wraps the framework, filtering natural light and diffusing the vertical profile. Grounding the structure, the floor surface is laid with composite panels manufactured by Macau-based firm Zence Object Technology (CHAZENCE), composed of recycled tea waste and discarded wood chips. Integrated solar panels power the project’s architectural spotlights off the municipal grid, combining intangible cultural heritage with circular material systems.

1/4

project info:

name: Bamboo Pagoda
architects: Impromptu Projects | @impromptu_projects

lead architects: Rita Machado, João Ó, Uieong To, Alexandre Marquês

bamboo scaffolding: Seng Kei Pang Chong

client: Ephemera Public Space Cooperative

location: Sai Van Lake, Macau SAR, China 

area: 25 sqm

photographers: Tang Kuok Hou, Gonçalo Lobo Pinheiro

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. See more project submissions from our readers here.