Ep 128: The Bamboo SWAT Team | Ewe Jin Low (Founder, TENTEN & Better Bamboo Buildings)

What this episode covers

Imagine spending 30 years working as an architect. Then deciding to uproot your entire life from the UK to move to Bali to work in a new field of architecture - bamboo! Because that's exactly what Ewe Jin Low. When he made the big move to Bali, he worked as Lead architect at IBUKU covering buildings like the Green School and in 2018, began his own bamboo journey by founding his own bamboo architecture firm TENTEN and Better Bamboo Buildings in 2020 - a platform that shares information and insights on bamboo design. Ewe Jin’s bamboo journey to date has included designing and building more than 80 bamboo buildings in many different regions. In 2022 he published a bamboo architecture book titled ‘Bamboo Ark 1’. He continues the journey to give talks, run courses and workshops and to create more buildings and installations in bamboo. So if you're like to learn more about this relatively new form of architecture, this is the episode for you! Highlights: 2:23 Bamboo groves 4:24 Architectural practice 7:15 The only Asian guy in the room 8:41 Battles fought 10:32 Prejudice against colour of skin 12:01 Moving to Bali 15:02 How bamboo has transformed his life & attitude 16:31 Letting go of everything 18:45 Assimilating into the real Bali culture 22:20 Learning about bamboo as a material 33:48 Common questions 36:30 Maintenance 43:36 Bamboo pioneers 46:09 Green School Bali 52:05 The SWAT Team of Bamboo Workers 56:50 Is it actually green architecture? 1:00:49 Is bamboo cheaper? 1:05:00 Construction bamboo forests? 📍Show notes: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/128 💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter that deconstructs how you build a portfolio career to prepare yourself for the future of work: https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/acd5bd1062 ✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442