Walk your eyes along the roofline of an IBUKU building and it rarely behaves like a conventional box. Columns branch, ceilings sweep upwards and the surrounding greenery becomes part of the room’s atmosphere. Bamboo helps give the architecture a remarkably expressive vocabulary.

The Bali-based practice is led by Elora Hardy, but the buildings are collaborative achievements. IBUKU describes its team as designers, architects and engineers working with the craft and knowledge needed to turn ambitious forms into usable places.

The multi-level bamboo form of Sharma Springs rising above the greenery in Bali
The multi-level bamboo form of Sharma Springs rising above the greenery in Bali. Gallery attribution: IBUKU / Green Village.

Sharma Springs makes the idea visible

One of the best-known examples is Sharma Springs at Green Village, overlooking the Ayung River valley. The property’s own description identifies six levels and a tubular bamboo entrance leading into the main house at the fourth floor.

That entrance is a useful detail to imagine. Instead of arriving at ground level and treating the view as something to find later, the approach brings you directly into the building’s relationship with the valley.

The photograph conveys scale, but look for smaller decisions too: the spacing of supports, the rhythm of railings and the way furniture sits within a curved room.

Bamboo needs knowledge and care

The older claim that bamboo is indestructible or naturally immune to insects is incorrect. Material selection, treatment, detailing, structural design and ongoing maintenance all matter.

A bamboo home with curved roofs and open balconies in the IBUKU archive
A bamboo home with curved roofs and open balconies in the IBUKU archive. Gallery attribution: IBUKU / Green Village.

IBUKU’s published material information describes treatment against insect damage. This is precisely why the finished building should not be reduced to a slogan such as “bamboo is as strong as concrete”. A whole structure depends on its connections, geometry, loading and exposure, not a comparison between two raw materials.

These are designed buildings, with specialists responsible for making the architectural idea work. A photograph is inspiration, not a set of construction instructions.

The craft is part of the beauty

Notice how the natural variation of the poles remains visible. Repetition gives the room order, while small differences keep it from feeling mechanically uniform.

Try choosing one joint or change of direction in an interior photograph and following the connected elements. The building becomes easier to appreciate when you see how the large gesture is made from many smaller decisions.

The phrase “made only from bamboo” also oversimplifies a functioning home. Foundations, services and other components have their own requirements. Bamboo can be the defining material without being the only material present.

Visiting requires the right arrangement

Green Village includes homes and accommodation; an appealing exterior does not make every building freely open to visitors. Check the current tour or stay options through the property before travelling there, and confirm which spaces your booking includes.

For another Bali accommodation style, compare the Ubud Village Resort. For a more compact design question, explore WaterNest’s floating-home proposal. The contrast helps reveal what matters most to you: material, setting, scale or the daily experience inside.