QUINOA Studio · Bamboo architecture and bamboo structural engineering

QUINOA Studio

Brazil, through other spans.

Imagine bamboo drawing the landscape you already know.

61native bamboo species,
49 of them found only in Brazil

Another urban nature.

What if the city grew with the forest, not against it?

65native species: the second-largest
bamboo diversity in the country

A shelter for the horizon.

Contemplate. Welcome. Preserve.

11recorded species, in an Amazon
that still holds bamboos yet to be discovered

Illustration of a green bamboo culm in section, with two windows showing the hollow interior separated by the node, and a branch with leaves
node
culm wall
Stained glass with the bamboo cross-section and a cut-out outline: green parenchyma cells and five copper-colored groups of fibers with light vessels
Vessel Fibers Parenchyma
Old world map in two hemispheres, with the native range of bamboo painted green: south-eastern United States, Mexico, Central and South America, sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, India, southern China, Southeast Asia and Japan
Native range schematic distribution

Light in matter, strong in structure.

In construction, the culm works like a tubular section: hollow, light and strong in tension and compression. The nodes brace the wall so it does not deform, and the circular section resists bending with little material. A section that is ready in just a few years.

About bamboo

Strength comes from within.

Inside, the culm has three kinds of cell. The green ones, the parenchyma, are a soft tissue that gives bamboo its flexibility. The fibers, in orange, are long and hard: they protect the vessels and provide the strength. The vessels, in light tone, are pipes that carry the water and nutrients feeding the green cells.

Abundant potential.

O Brasil tem a maior diversidade de bambus das Américas: 256 espécies nativas, ainda pouco usadas. Entre elas estão 18 espécies de guadua, um dos bambus mais resistentes do mundo.

Talk about your project
01 / Material

Education and experience

  • Escola da Cidade — Postgraduate degree in Designing and Building Lightweight Structures.
  • Architectural Association · Interactive Constructions — Design, structural analysis and construction of a bamboo pavilion with parametric tools, under the guidance of Kristof Crolla.
  • Bamboo U · Bali — Model making and understanding of structural relationships.
  • Perkins&Will · Innovation Incubator — Research on bamboo structures selected by the innovation program.
  • Timbau — Work on timber structures. Further training with João Pina, of ITA.
  • IFSP, São Judas and Mackenzie — Talks on bamboo and participation in the MackBambu group.

In the press

Casa e Jardim What the future holds for us

In the magazine's 70th-anniversary issue, the feature gathers what architects and designers propose for the future: walkable cities, modular construction, biomaterials and bamboo as structure. The interview with Mattheus is on page 6.

Read the interview

What is the next step?

See the work. Understand the process. Bring your idea.

Give shape to your idea.

Architecture + structural design.

Request a quote