MemutAR 竹旋幻居 is a design research exhibition project featuring an elegant bamboo pavilion, nested next to a beautiful lake, that was prefabricated by Balinese craftsmen and re-assembled in Taiwan by local contractors using Augmented Reality (AR) technology. It demonstrates the potential of AR technology in bamboo architecture, enabling the straightforward construction of non-standard spaces and geometries combining locally available and overseas specialised skill, thus allowing for the scaling-up and exporting of craft-demanding bamboo projects.

The project shows that high-end bamboo craftsmanship, currently concentrated in only a few highly specialised places globally, can be exported overseas with ease, thanks to the convenience of prefabricated parts shipped directly to local building contractors. This technology works for both geometrically complex projects and standard building projects, ranging from poolside pavilions to small housing projects.

Visitors to our exhibition can experience AR technology first-hand by using a bespoke app on their handheld devices to visualise possible infills of the waterside pavilion at full scale, while swapping between finishes and furniture options.
The name “MemutAR” is a word play on the Indonesian verb “memutar” and the acronym “AR”. Memutar translates means to rotate, turn, spin, wind, reverse, swivel, swing, revolve, torque, whirl, twirl, wheel, screw, and twiddle. This behaviour is clearly represented in the pavilion’s dynamic geometry, which is based on a trimmed hyperbolic paraboloid. But “memutar” also means to put into circulation, and to transplant, which reflects the pavilion’s production lifecycle, where it is first prefabricated in Bali, Indonesia, and then shipped overseas to Taiwan for reassembly. By capitalising the letters “AR” in “MemutAR”, the name highlights the fact that AR technology was used for its fabrication, assembly, and reassembly.
MemutAR represents a milestone in the integration of latest cutting-edge technology into sustainable architecture that utilises natural materials and traditional local craftsmanship.

PROJECT | MemutAR – 竹旋幻居
COMPLETION | January 2024
LOCATION | 新竹市陽明交通大學光復校區新竹市大學路1001號 – National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), Hsinchu City Campus, No. 1001, Daxue Road, Hsinchu City, Taiwan

DESIGN | Laboratory for Explorative Architecture & Design Ltd. (LEAD) / Dr Kristof Crolla, Julien Klisz
AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) CONSULTANT| Augmented Architecture Ltd. / Dr Garvin Goepel
MANUFACTURING | PT Bamboo Pure / Orin HardyIMPLEMENTATION | 國立陽明交通大學建築所 – National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU), Graduate Institute of Architecture (GIA) / Yu-Tung Cheng
CONSTRUCTION TEAM | 藝創木構 – Wood Art And Structure
MEMBRANE CONSULTANT | 冠閤企業股份有限公司- F.I.T. Industrial Co.. Ltd
TECH SUPPORT | University of Hong Kong (HKU), Faculty of Architecture, Building Simplexity Laboratory (BSL)

CLIENT | 臺灣竹會 – Taiwan Bamboo Society

EXHIBITION | 「島嶼構竹」新銳建築展 – Tectonic of The Island
EXHIBITION PERIOD | 2024.04.12 – 2024.04.28
INSITUTE |臺灣竹會 – Taiwan Bamboo Society

SHORTFILM | vimeo.com/928326950
SHORTFILM DESIGN | Julien Klisz, Laboratory for Explorative Architecture & Design Ltd. (LEAD)
SHORTFILM MUSIC | 沧海一声笑 (3ASiC Flip)

PROJECT WEBSITE | l-e-a-d.pro/portfolio/memutar/
PHOTOGRAPHY | LEAD, Augmented Architecture Ltd., 拾蒔生活製作所 – Shao-Chi Ho
PROJECT APP | l-e-a-d.pro/memutarqr/
APP DEVELOPMENT| Augmented Architecture Ltd. i.c.w. LEAD