©MuhammadZianurrahman
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The BaleBio Pavilion: Bamboo’s Role in Regenerative Architecture
Date
18/3/2025
Read time
0
minutes
The BaleBio is an 84-square-meter pavilion that demonstrates the potential and elegance of regenerative architecture. As part of BauhausEarth’s ReBuilt project, it was designed both for and with the local community—inspired by the Bale Banjar, a traditional meeting hall for social, cultural, and religious activities, found in every Banjar (local village organization) of Bali.
“The BaleBio draws upon local Balinese vernacular typologies, reimagined through the use of locally sourced natural and recycled materials to create a vision for how construction can have a positive impact on the environment.” – Jed Long, Cave Urban
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© Iwan Sastrawan
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The opening ceremony © Muhammad Zianurrahman, © IwanSastrawan
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The traditional raised platform and the tiled roof provide shelter and shade for the community to gather © Iwan Sastrawan
About the construction
With its iconic barrel-vaulted roof, made of slim bamboo rafters clad in pelupuh (flattened bamboo), the BaleBio rises over the shore of Mertasari Beach. At 8.5 metres high, it provides shelter and shade for the community to gather. The structure is supported by columns and beams of engineered bamboo—used for the first time in Bali. Lamination, compression, and resin bonding make it exceptionally strong, durable, and resistant, making it a practical regenerative alternative to wood or steel.
The flooring is composed of reclaimed or reused materials, including roof tiles, paras stone, and ironwood – all locally sourced. In collaboration with its local partners, Bauhaus Earth conducted a lifecycle assessment (LCA), structural testing, and value chain analysis during the planning process to further refine construction practice sand assess their scalability. The Cradle-to-Gate calculations show that the total emissions of the BaleBio pavilion are 121% lower than those of comparable conventional constructions.
“The BaleBio is an opportunity for bringing together abroad group of local stakeholders who are all developing solutions to the ecological impact of the built environment. The pavilion demonstrates that we can build in a way that is regenerative rather than extractive, making use of local materials and knowledge that already exist.” – Jed Long, Cave Urban
About ReBuilt’sRegional Study on Bali
BaleBio is a key component of the Bauhaus Earth ReBuilt Project, which explores the use of bio-based building materials in four regions of the world, supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment. InBali, the research focuses on bamboo as a highly renewable resource that can be grown, manufactured, and built locally. With abundant bamboo resources, Indonesia is increasing the production of engineered bamboo to both support local industries and reduce deforestation, while pioneering regenerative building practices.
Cave Urban, Bamboo Village Trust
Structural Engineering: Atelier One
Manufacturing: Indobamboo, KalTimber, Bhoomi, BambooPure, Wedoo, Rothoblaas
LCA Analysis: Eco Mantra
Sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection
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