Inside the July Course Carpentry Station
By | November 10, 2026 | Carpentry and Processing -
"Nature is already enough; I think that if we feel it is not enough, that is a human problem," says Yuta Kozaki.Sometimes the best thing a we can do as designers is less. In its raw form, or close to it, a natural material is often beautiful enough on its own. Our job is simply to let that beauty come through.
That’s the idea behind our carpentry station at our 11 Day Build and Design Course. Participants are given bamboo, a few tools, and some very experienced carpenters for advice. They are able to spend up to five days deep in the material, bringing their own designs to life.
In July 2026, we asked three of them about what they were building, the bamboo they were using, and what the experience taught them. Here is what they shared.
Related: The 5 Tools You Need for Traditional Bamboo Carpentry
What are you building, and why?
A hammock, a chair, and a rolitong (an instrument), all made as a performance of bamboo. I want to maximise the benefit from a single pole of bamboo.
What bamboo are you using?
Apus and Asper, round pole, split only.
How are you making it?
Use the round pole. Make it as a performance of bamboo, not beyond the bamboo’s limit. Nature is already enough; I think that if we feel it is not enough, that is a human problem.
What did these five days teach you about bamboo?
I now understand the specs of Asper and Apus. Clumping bamboo is soft on the inside, and running bamboo is hard on the inside.
What are you building, and why?
It was not clean at the beginning, but the idea is to create contemporary bamboo design objects that stretch the aesthetic expectations of bamboo.
What bamboo are you using?
Black bamboo.
How are you making it?
Creating interesting, unexpected geometry and abstraction from bamboo.
What did these five days teach you about bamboo?
The fibre is really stubborn.
Related: 5 Innovative Chair Designs Crafted at Bamboo U
What are you building, and why?
I am trying to examine and produce a new base material and language.
What is the inspiration for your project?
Just thinking, and working from a sketch.
What bamboo are you using?
Black bamboo.
How are you making it?
Chainmail mesh as a new application: cutting pipe, sanding, weaving, climbing, and repeating.
What did these five days teach you about bamboo?
Patience, and the fragility of bamboo in certain applications. The importance of good tools. And the contrast between our approach and Tender’s, our way of working against the material rather than with it.
Want to spend five days making with bamboo by hand?
Join our 11 Day Build & Design Course in Bali.
Master bamboo carpentry and construction, online.
Self-paced online course taught by the same experts behind our Bali programs. Start today from Rp 4,150,000 (approx. US$250).
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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.
