The XThe X

A temporary bamboo installation set in a quiet landscape. The project explores assembly, mobility and structural experiment with low-tech, sustainable materials. Conceived as a two-level seat, it invites people of every age to sit together.

Bamboo is the main material. The joints use jute thread and threaded metal rods with nuts and bolts, made by an experienced local artisan. We developed a series of small joinery details by combining traditional bamboo craft with contemporary construction, and built the seats from smaller bamboo sections to keep them light and efficient.

The structure takes its cue from a scissor mechanism: the intersecting "X" members act as pin joints working mainly in compression, while horizontal members work in tension to close a stable system. Instead of conventional cross-bracing, a modular space frame under the benches adds stability and spreads the load.

As a free-standing piece it had to balance mobility with safety. Seated people and changing live loads led us to a light system of angled members; with spans of nearly three metres, controlling the bamboo’s deflection was the critical concern. The result is temporary architecture that is open to everyone, structurally efficient and easy to move to a new place.