The CULTIVARTE Arches were developed in a three-day workshop by the architect Jaime Peña. The workshop involved fabricating and rigging ten arches. The project was designed by Jaime Peña Studio using Rhinoceros and Grasshopper. The construction was led by the Cultivarte team, Jaime and the workshop participants. First, a bamboo frame was built on the ground. This frame was used for bending and shaping the bamboo strips into arches. Their measurements were taken from Grasshopper. To build the arches, we placed ten strips of bamboo, one next to the other. This process was repeated four times, one on top of the other, as in the image below. To attach the bamboo strips, we first used clamps every 50 centimetres to bring the strips together as much as possible. After the clamps, we used wires to secure it temporarily, hammering it down to make it as flat as possible and placing the metal zip ties, which required a special tool to tighten and cut. Then we cut what was left of the ends, leaving it ready to be positioned on the concrete base. After this step, we started the densification. With limited time, we managed to densify 10% of the structure. The image shows the structure as the workshop ended. After the workshop, I drew a similar design to study in Grasshopper

team

Date: February 2023
Location: Anapoima, Colombia

Project:
Jaime Peña Studio

Project Coordinators:
Cultivarte (Eyal and Nathalia)

Construction team: Jaime Peña, Eyal and Nathalia from Cultivarte, Camila Calegari, Juliana Sáenz, Maria Adelaida, Maria Isabel Arango, Andrés R., Arnaldo Teran, Arthuro, Bernardo, Cesar Medina, Elkin, Hernando Diaz, Julio Sanfate, Lucia Ramirez, Natha Cedeño, Nathalia Martinez, Sergio Malagon, among other students.