An Elegant Balcony Chair Made from Bamboo Rings
By | August 5, 2025 | Student Work -
At the design and carpentry station, Jason crafted a chair made from three interlocking bamboo rings. Read on to learn about how he did it!
Hi! I’m Jason and I’m a designer from Sydney, Australia. In June 2025, I joined the Design and Carpentry Station as part of Bamboo U’s 11-Day Build and Design workshop. At the station, I wanted to create a renter-friendly, hammock-inspired balcony solution for my apartment back home. I set out to do so using laminated rings, lidi bundles, and canvas.
Related: Crafting a Beautiful Indian-Inspired Punkah Fan
I had three main design choices for how I wanted the chair to look and feel. Firstly, I wanted the design of the chair to look simple and not immediately obvious that it is made of bamboo. I also wanted the ability to be and feel suspended while seated in the chair. Finally, I designed my chair with the option to rock back and forth for a self-soothing effect.
To put the chair together, first I used Dendrocalamus asper strips that I laminated into rings with epoxy resin. However, I found the lamination process to be time-consuming and challenging. With only limited remaining to continue the project, I continued the ring-making process with Dendrocalamus asper bamboo dowels (called lidis). Using the typical lidi-bundling technique, I created a circular lidi bundle to serve as one of the structural rings for the chair. Once this was done, the three rings for the chair’s overall frame were complete!
After the chair’s frame was done, it was time to create the chair’s suspended seat. To do so, I used a canvas sling, which I fixed to the laminated rings using screws. I also made adjustments and fixed the frame in place using screws and bolts. Finally, I wrapped the joints with a thin bamboo rope for a more aesthetic and clean finish.
Related: Using Bamboo to Craft an Innovative Mobility Solution
From this process, I had three main takeaways. The first was not to spend the first full day planning and to just go for it! Secondly, be sure to wear gloves when working with epoxy – that sticky stuff goes everywhere! And finally, bamboo will bend… but you must also bend for bamboo. Bamboo is a tricky material to work with and doesn’t always behave like you want it to. Therefore, design changes during the crafting or building process are a key part of working with bamboo.
Want to design and build your own furniture? Join us for an online or in-person workshop HERE!
The 11-Day Build & Design Course
In collaboration with IBUKU
Immersed in the most beautiful and innovative bamboo environment. Meet the pioneers, the visionaries, the designers and builders who took this under-utilized material and transformed it into the most desired natural building material for bamboo structure design.
The Intro to Bamboo Engineering Online Course
Designed specially for structural engineers, this FREE online course has been created in collaboration with the Base Bahay Foundation, based in the Philippines.Join the course to learn how bamboo's innate properties make it a versatile building material, and how these properties can be maximized and applied in structural design.
