bamboo furniture by jeff da-yu shi at beijing design week 2012

the taiwanese designer employs the use of bamboo in the construction of his furniture and interior projects, offering contemporary takes on classic forms of chinese furniture typical of the ming and qing dynasties.

andrea chin October 9, 2012 3 min

bamboo furniture by jeff da-yu shi at beijing design week 2012 ‘gang rou’ chair by jeff dayu shi

jeff dayu shi, founder and creative director of dragonfly gallery and dragonfly design center, is a taiwanese designer who through his practice employs the use of bamboo in the construction of his furniture and interior projects. during beijing design week 2012, he presented ‘praise of bamboo far and near’ an installation of selected bamboo works which included chairs and tables.

bamboo furniture by jeff da-yu shi at beijing design week 2012 - 1 the chair’s profile which shows the fan effect of the four curved bamboo slats which make up the back rest

drawing influences from the furniture forms of the ming and qing dynasty, shi’s ‘gang rou’ armchair features a round-back with a simple linear structure. the stackable seating piece appears heavy because of its large size, but its bamboo construction offers a lightweight design which is easy to carry. its S-type backrest curves to the human spine.

bamboo furniture by jeff da-yu shi at beijing design week 2012 - 2 front view of the chair which draws its formal qualities from the furniture of the ming and qing dynasties

bamboo furniture by jeff da-yu shi at beijing design week 2012 - 3 bentwood slats of bamboo form the ‘S’ shaped backrest

bamboo furniture by jeff da-yu shi at beijing design week 2012 - 4 top view of the seat

bamboo furniture by jeff da-yu shi at beijing design week 2012 - 5 the bamboo chair is stackable

bamboo furniture by jeff da-yu shi at beijing design week 2012 - 6 ‘zhuo ba xian’ table

in chinese families, the ‘ba xian table’ is traditionally one of the most common pieces of furniture within the household. composed of only three parts: the top, the legs and the aprons, historically they have been made from various types of hardwood – many of which are on the verge of extinction today. shi’s ‘zhuo ba xian’ bamboo version employs a mortise and tenon joint system, and use of a sustainable material resulting in a more contemporary expression of the classic table. the legs are composed of three bamboo slats which intersect with one another at an angle of 120 degrees. a diaphragm-like mechanism holds these parts together, giving structural strength and high rigidity to the design. ‘zhuo ba xian’ is produced in collaboration with craftsmen: huang chun-chieh (ruban craft academy) and wang deng-fa (yung shing furniture co., ltd.).

bamboo furniture by jeff da-yu shi at beijing design week 2012 - 7 the table is constructed employing a mortise and tenon joint system

bamboo furniture by jeff da-yu shi at beijing design week 2012 - 8 detail

bamboo furniture by jeff da-yu shi at beijing design week 2012 - 9 the legs of the table are made-up of three slats which intersect one another at a 120 degree angle and are held in place by a diaphragm-lie component

bamboo furniture by jeff da-yu shi at beijing design week 2012 - 10

2012 beijing design week (BJDW), held in beijing from 28th september to 6th october, featured seven sections:

opening ceremony, annual design awards, milan guest city, beijing design fair, geo city smart city-international information design exhibition, the new york times beijing design forum 2012, and design hop. the ullens center for contemporary art (UCCA) is the exclusive education partner for BJDW. BJDW and UCCA have co-organized BJDW@UCCA talks, inviting important designers and institutes to talk about ‘upgrading the city by design’. the talks were held from sep. 27 to oct. 2 at UCCA auditorium.