\u00a0<\/p>\n
Installed in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney<\/a><\/strong>, What We Leave Behind is a temporary<\/a><\/strong> bamboo<\/a><\/strong> structure developed by Cave Urban for the 2025 Sydney Festival. Created in response to the festival\u2019s theme, Birth, Destiny and What We Leave Behind, the installation<\/a><\/strong> explores spatial storytelling through material assembly, public<\/a><\/strong> interaction, and site-specific design.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The structure is constructed from 500 locally sourced bamboo poles, hand-split into over 2,500 individual strands. These were woven over a ten-day period to form a curved, tunnel-like shell extending 40 metres in length and rising to over seven metres in height. The installation was developed in collaboration with the public, who contributed handwritten messages directly onto 8-metre-long bamboo strips. These inscriptions, totalling 25,000, were integrated into the structure, becoming both surface and narrative elements. Designed to allow full pedestrian passage, the tunnel widens and rises in height as one moves through it. The curvature is calculated to disrupt a direct line of sight, encouraging users to experience the structure as a sequence of changing spatial conditions. The tunnel\u2019s entrance was positioned to frame a view toward the Sydney Opera House, while its arching form echoes that of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, establishing visual and material dialogue with the surrounding context.<\/p>\n all images by Juan Pablo Pinto unless stated otherwise<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Material selection played a central role in the project\u2019s design logic. Bamboo was chosen for its availability, tensile strength, flexibility, and ease of manual processing. Its curved form enabled the construction of a lightweight yet stable structural shell approximately 5 cm thick. The golden tone of the bamboo visually connects with the adjacent sandstone facade of the MCA, while its woven construction contrasts with the geometric rigidity of the museum\u2019s architecture.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The installation process involved collaboration between Cave Urban\u2019s team<\/a> <\/strong>and skilled practitioners, as well as\u00a0untrained participants. The complexity of the structure required a responsive construction method in which community members contributed directly to the making. The site operated as a collective fabrication space, where material preparation and weaving took place simultaneously. This public involvement formed an integral part of the spatial and conceptual outcome. What We Leave Behind functions as a spatial record of participatory engagement, constructed with impermanence in mind. Its formal language and assembly process reflect themes of interconnection, accumulation, and collective authorship within a contemporary urban context.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t<\/p>\n \t\t<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \t<\/p>\n \t\t<\/p>\n image by Victor Frankowski<\/p>\n \t<\/p>\n \t\t<\/p>\n \n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n image by Chlo\u00e9 Lindsay Daye<\/p>\n image by Neil Bennett<\/p>\n image by Chlo\u00e9 Lindsay Daye<\/p>\n image by Neil Bennett<\/p>\n<\/p>\n image by Nergal U-Khan<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n project info:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n name:<\/strong>\u00a0What We Leave Behind area:<\/strong> 200 sqm location:<\/strong> Museum of Contemporary Art Forecourt, Tallawoladah Lawn, Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n client:<\/strong> Sydney Festival harvesting volunteers:<\/strong> Alexia Dermatis, Alfredo Santos Ram\u00edrez, Alicia Mardones, Angela Ha, Ashleigh Williams, Atheer Albokhari, Audrey See, Bethany Chamberlain, C\u00e9lia Lesigne, Dena Rubinstein, Emma Cao, Federico Riches, Isabella Massa, Juliet Nelson, Katie Hubbard, Kevin Zhen, Krishna Patil, Meiling Kwok, Mia Margolis, Nejala Janiola, Pete Deards, Sarah Ong, Sheen Parimoo, Suki Fong, Ting Ting Mabel Loon, Tiresi Kirby, Yuting Zhang<\/p>\n building volunteers:<\/strong> Alessia Francesca Picarel, Alexia Dermatis, Alicia Mardones, Annie Boman, Ashleigh Williams, Bethany Hooper, Billy Hyman, Bridget Annand, Camila Strang, Charu Kukreja, Chlo\u00e9 Lindsay Daye, Christopher Papaioannou, Dena Rubinstein, Emma Cao, Fatima Harun, Iris Xiao, Isabella Zhou, Jason Mumford, Jedda Ayling, Kate Riley, Katie Graham, Kelcie Bryant\u2010Duguid, Kevin Zhen, Kyo Kim, Laura Cimilo, Laura Fisher, Lilah Shapiro, Linda Agresti, Lisa Stevenson, Liz Mayberry, Lois Hyatt, Maisie Rose Nugent, Meiling Kwok, Mia Margolis, Mikayla Earnshaw, Nejala Janiola, Pete Deards, Rizal Mahoney, Robi Stanton, Sarah Ong, Seamus Fitzpatrick, Sheen Parimoo, Sirintra Sriwattanavanit, Tamara Bowman, Yuanqi Jia, Yuting Zhang, Zoe Hyatt, Zoe Pan<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n designboom has received this project from our\u00a0DIY submissions<\/span><\/a>\u00a0feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers\u00a0here.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n edited by: christina vergopoulou | designboom<\/p>\n The post thousands of hand-split bamboo strands weave curved tunnel by cave urban in sydney<\/a> appeared first on designboom | architecture & design magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What We Leave Behind forms a curved shell in front of MCA \u00a0 Installed in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, What We Leave Behind is a temporary bamboo structure developed by … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[142],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nCommunity members join Cave Urban in the making of the pavilion<\/h2>\n
\ndesigner:<\/strong>\u00a0Juan Pablo Pinto
\ndesigner:<\/strong>\u00a0Cave Urban<\/a> | @caveurban<\/a><\/p>\n
\ndimensions:<\/strong> 40m (L) x 7m (W) x 4.5m (H)<\/p>\n
\nlead designer:<\/strong> Juan Pablo Pinto
\ndesign team:<\/strong> Nici Long, Jed Long, Mercurio Alvarado, Maeve Corke Butters, Erin Zikos, May Baker, Hamish Shorrocks, Taya Solomon, Honey Long, Prue Stent
\nengineer:<\/strong> Event Engineering
\nsteel tie-down:<\/strong> Eveleigh Works<\/p>\n