Exploring the design potential of bamboo for contemporary furniture

The project has been conducted as an investigation into the design and making of furniture items, using bamboo in both the context of employing traditional craft skills and modern machinery and technologies. <br><br>Initially the project studied bamboos physical properties and its role as an important traditional material within all aspects of Indonesian culture. The study explored the concept of ‘cultural hybridization,’ a result of Asian and European colonialism in Indonesia and its expression in architecture and furniture. This concept was then used to review the work of contemporary Asian designers that mix traditional materials and craft skills within contemporary furniture forms and was extended to the use of bamboo in contemporary design projects from around the world. <br><br>The project was conducted through the development of a number of designs that employed bamboo in innovative ways. Initially concepts, renderings, models and prototypes were developed and techniques for the shaping and construction of a range of bamboo furniture pieces were tested in the workshops within RMIT, using modern computer and machine technologies. The project was then taken back to Java where traditional craftsman were asked to develop techniques to reproduce the designs developed in Melbourne. The ‘transfer of knowledge’ involved in the interpretation of the products of modern technology that were made in the RMIT workshops, through the application of traditional Javanese craft skills and techniques in Indonesia, has become the core focus of the study. <br><br>Ultimately the study seeks to expose the potentials within the bridging of cultures, technologies and skills through the act of design. The project offers a new perspective on the conception of furniture design which uses traditional Javanese culture and skills in combination with modern ideas to create products which fulfil contemporary lifestyle needs.