Restaurant
Kapal Bambu

New in 2016, the «Kapal Bambu» restaurant is the latest jewel of of Ecolodge Bukit Lawang. The restaurant is constructed from natural and sustainable harvested bamboo and clay, which are found in sufficient quantities in the local environment of Bukit Lawang. This innovative design serves as a showcase for sustainable development, and offers a ground floor eating area with seating for 150 people. The «Bamboo Lounge» in the upper flower offers space for conservation education, simple relaxation, and entertainment.

Materialisation

The materialisation of construction and infrastructure focuses on sustainability. The choice was quickly made up for bamboo and clay. These natural and ecological materials are found in sufficient quantities in immediate and broader environs of Bukit Lawang. Moreover the local communities can be involved in the purchase, preservation, manufacture and maintenance of bamboo.

Facades, roofing, stairs, railings, lighting and furniture are all produced from bamboo, with the exception of the floor of the basement, which is a polished terrazzo cement floor, the bar counter, a beton moulding, and the walls, made from clay.

The «Kapal Bambu» restaurant is the latest jewel of of Ecolodge Bukit Lawang. Constructed from natural and sustainably harvested bamboo and clay, which are found in sufficient quantities in the local environment of Bukit Lawang, this innovative design serves as a showcase for sustainable development. Facades, roofing, stairs, railings, lighting and furniture are all produced from bamboo. The floor of the basement is manufactured from a polished terrazzo cement floor while the bar counter, a beton moulding, and the walls are made from clay. Moreover, communities have been and are involved in the purchase, preservation, manufacture and maintenance of bamboo, providing eco-friendly livelihoods for the local people.

All the bamboo luminaires have been designed by the architect and produced in the workshop on the ground of Ecolodge Bukit Lawang, positioned so as to highlight the innovative structural framework. Most of the bamboo originates from within a radius of 60 kilometres of Bukit Lawang. It was pulled by water buffaloes out the forest to reach the trucks and transported to Timban Lawang’s bamboo preservation centre.

Some of the remaining materials originate from close surroundings, such as stones, gravel, and clay from the river. Cement and iron for fittings were purchased in Medan, while the bamboo shingles from a bamboo factory in Bali, and the special ‘bamboo duri’ (spiky bamboo) for the indoor railing from East Java.

Architects

The unique bamboo building has been designed and built by Swiss architect Lukas Zollinger (zollinger brunner architects) in collaboration with the German-Columbian bamboo expert Jörg Stamm. Design, material and construction focuses on sustainability in accordance with the green vision of Ecolodge Bukit Lawang.

Architecture

Restaurant