Bamboo & local craft · Dujiangyan, Sichuan

Ma’s Bamboo
Workshop

Bamboo, craft
and collaboration

Developed by Weibing Liu with Ma Zehong and his family, the workshop brings local bamboo craft into architectural design and construction. The open bamboo interior accommodates making, visitors and everyday activities.

Completed: 2020
Area: 426.6 m²
Location: Dujiangyan, Sichuan
Client & collaborators: Ma Zehong and his family

Bamboo & construction Ma Zehong & his family

Children playing within an open bamboo interior, with columns, roof poles and trees visible — Children using the bamboo interior at Ma’s Bamboo Workshop. Photography: Arch-Exist.

Material & making

Bamboo, from
frame to roof

Bamboo poles form columns and a closely spaced roof structure. The material shapes the open interior as well as the chairs made within it.

Work with Ma Zehong and his family brought local craft knowledge into the design and construction process.

People raising and steadying a bamboo frame together beside a bamboo grove — Assembling the bamboo frame. Studio project archive.

At the scale of the building

Design through making

Raising and steadying the bamboo frame is shared work, bringing local craft knowledge into the construction of the workshop.

At the scale of the chair

A material worked by hand

Chair making brings bamboo craft into everyday use. The workshop provides space for this work and for exchange with visitors.

People & local knowledge

With Ma Zehong
and his family

Liu worked with Ma Zehong and his family to develop the workshop. Their knowledge of bamboo craft became part of the architectural process, connecting the building with the work it accommodates.

Chair making and encounters with visitors share a place here. The workshop supports the family’s craft practice alongside the everyday activities of adults and children.

Adults and children gathered around bamboo chairs, with handwork taking place beneath the bamboo roof — Chair making and exchange with visitors. Image courtesy of Weibing Liu.

Aerial view of the workshop among mature trees beside farmland and a narrow path — Buildings, trees and farmland at Ma’s Bamboo Workshop. Photography: Arch-Exist.

Place & everyday use

A workshop within
the landscape

Buildings, trees and farmland form the setting for the workshop. Its open spaces connect working areas with the landscape around them.

Circularity & continuity

Keeping craft
knowledge in use

At the workshop, continuity lies in a practice of making. Ma Zehong and his family bring bamboo craft into architectural design and construction.

The building gives that knowledge a place to be practised and shared through making and exchange with visitors. This work connects the use of bamboo with the people whose skills give it form.

Circularity across the practice

Project credits

Lead architect: Weibing Liu
Design practice: Sichuan David Architectural Design
Client & collaborators: Ma Zehong and his family

Photography: Arch-Exist. Assembly photograph: studio project archive. Chair-making photograph: image courtesy of Weibing Liu.

Selected projects · 2009–2022

All selected projects Next project · Completed 2022 Xingfu Ridge

Chengdu, Sichuan, China

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Ma’s Bamboo Workshop

Bamboo, from frame to roof