Dan Luo ‘14 MArch is a recipient of the 2019-2020 GSAPP Incubator Prize and a Lecturer at the University of Queensland School of Architecture. Her project “Weaving through Nature” re-interprets traditional bamboo weaving techniques with parametric design tools to create pavilions that enliven underused sites.

As part of this project, Luo led the course “Architectural Weaving: Constructing a Kagome Bamboo Woven Pavilion” at the University of Queensland. At the beginning of the course, Luo introduced students to parametric tools fo analyzing and optimizing the placement of structural rods in 3D models modeled after traditional kagome weave patterns. Afterward, select models were realized at 1:20 scale with reinforced fiber rods to assess structural stability and test construction methods. The course culminated with the construction of a full-scale model using locally harvested bamboo.

Luo intends to further develop this research by realizing an additional prototype on a rural site in China. By employing bamboo pavilions as a framework to support vegetation, these interventions intend to transform underused sites into “vibrant and informal urban greenspaces, full of life and color.”