peter steinhauer captures the colorful bamboo scaffolding dressing hong kong's skyscrapers

for over twenty years, award-winning photographer peter steinhauer has documented the colorful bamboo scaffolding which decorates hong kong‘s construction sites. swathed in brightly hued fabric, they cage the city’s skyscrapers up to 80 stories high, appearing as death-defying cocoons which scaffolders scale with eye-watering risk.

images courtesy of powerhouse books

published by powerhouse books, ‘cocoons’ reproduces one hundred of these hauntingly beautiful images, focusing on the beauty of architecture as a process rather than a finished product. the photoseries documents steinhauer’s fascination with these monumental edifices, from the first time he photographed them in 1994, to the moment it became a full time project, relocating him to hong kong from vietnam in 2007.

instead of steel or aluminum structures, which are common in europe and the western hemisphere, bamboo scaffolding is the primary method of building skyscrapers in hong kong. the city is the final stronghold of workers who once practiced their trade throughout asia.

using few safety restraints, crews are able to construct up to 1,000 square feet of bamboo scaffolding in just one day. these bamboo strutures wrap the building works, covered in fabric to prevent debris from falling to the ground. eventually they are ceremoniously unveiled, the framework acting as part of a metamorphosis; like caterpillars transforming into butterflies.