From growing bamboo to restore soil health and biodiversity to engineering it into a scalable building material to designing entire structures around its natural intelligence, From Field to Form: Bamboo brought together three leaders who are shaping what this plant can mean for the future of healthy building.
Regenerative agroforester Lucas Oshun of
@regenerationfieldinstitute shared how bamboo cultivation can restore biodiversity, support rural livelihoods, and supply a fast-growing, locally available material - while reminding us that yield and performance depend heavily on place, conditions, and continued R&D investment.
Material innovator Jonas Hauptman of
@vt_biodesign explored bamboo’s potential to address the global housing crisis. The regions that need housing most are the same regions where bamboo thrives. If supported by industry and infrastructure, bamboo can become a versatile system of parts capable of scaling.
Designer Elora Hardy of
@ibukubali offered a window into material-led practice in Bali and beyond, where bamboo is treated as a collaborator rather than a commodity. Her approach embraces curved geometries, site-responsive design, hand sketches, and the idea that “there is nothing wrong with a right angle - it just has to prove its relevance like any other shape.”
Guests also explored a curated exhibit by
@jessicathiesdesigns of HML, with tactile materials and models - including contributions from
@architate Kimberly Tate’s work at
@bambulawan - that invited attendees to see, smell, and experience bamboo’s wide-ranging possibilities.
Thank you to our speakers, moderators Paul Lewis of
@ltlarchitects and
@jonsara of HML, collaborator
@archleague , and everyone who joined us for an energizing, full-room conversation.
🔗 The event recording will be available soon! Request on-demand access through the link in our bio, and we’ll send it as soon as it’s ready.
