Carved from the ribs

Hori­zons

The Arc at Green School is the newest buil­ding on the campus of the Inter­na­tional Green School on the island of Bali in Indo­nesia. The Green School Bali (there are others) was founded in 2008 and is dedi­cated to sustaina­bi­lity and broa­de­ning hori­zons.

The Arc at Green School is another mile­stone in this history. The buil­ding aims to set new stan­dards for sustainable cons­truc­tion and sustainable educa­tion.

The hall consists of a series of inter­sec­ting, 14-metre-high bamboo arches that stretch 19 meters wide and are connected to each other by anti­c­la­stic lattice shells. They derive their load-bearing capa­city from the curvature in two oppo­site direc­tions. Nothing like this has ever been built before anywhere in the world.

The Arc is also a fanta­stic and extre­mely multi­func­tional sports hall.

Bow

The arch is a master­piece of engi­nee­ring. The plan­ners at IBUKU refer to one of natu­re’s best stra­te­gies for crea­ting large spaces with minimal struc­ture: the ribcage of a mammal. Here, the ribs work under pres­sure and are held toge­ther by an elastic layer of muscle and skin.

This creates a thin but stable shell to protect (for example) the lungs. In the case of The Arc, the arches under tension are held in posi­tion by tensioned, anti­c­la­stic lattice shells.

These lattice shells fill the spaces between the extre­mely slender arches, lending the room a very deli­cate inti­macy and beauty. Although the lattice shells appear to hang down from the arches, they actually hold them upright.

Balance

The staging of the geometry of the arch brings balance to the struc­ture. This saves the plan­ners a whole lot of mate­rial – and they achieve this wonderful inte­rior of a sports hall that is exem­plary in many respects.

It’s enviable who gets to go to school here.