In 1997 RISD began working with the Environmental Bamboo Foundation (www.bamboocentral.org) in Bali, Indonesia, to explore innovative uses and applications of bamboo — the fastest growing woody plant on earth, but one long deemed inferior by the Western world. “RISD’s willingness to do research and development on bamboo design shows a pioneering spirit that could bring about significant change,” noted Linda Garland of the Foundation.

In keeping with RISD’s commitment to teach socially and ecologically responsible design practices, the Bamboo Design Initiative began as a research project in the Furniture Design Department, where students were asked to investigage the unique properties of bamboo and explore its creative potential. The project quickly grew to include students in the departments of Architecture, Industrial Design, Interior Architecture and Landscape Architecture as well.

Students typically spent a semester experimenting with various methods of working with discrete types of bamboo and conceiving of appropriate applications, building on the research of their predecessors. Among the wide range of methods explored were crushing, milling, slicing or splitting various types of bamboo — Calcutta, Guadua, Manau, Taiwan — with unique characteristics. Student would then cast, carve, laminate, weave, bend or assemble a particular species into utilitarian objects — everything from clothing to packaging, vessels, folding chairs, table legs and landscape lighting.

“We’re really trying to get this material in the public eye,” noted ID Professor Bob O’Neal, one of the faculty members involved with the studios. Generous support from the Hassenfeld Foundation enabled RISD to wrap up its three-year, multidisciplinary Design Initiative in 2000, having made great strides in determining innovative uses for this remarkable renewable resource.