A bamboo dome is set to be built in a Stoke-on-Trent town centre, offering a hands-on look at natural construction and collaboration.
Members of the public will be able to explore the structure on Saturday, March 22, as part of B Arts’ Saturday Series: A Place to Dwell event in Stoke’s market square.
A collaboration between North Staffordshire creative organisation Brilliant Bamboo and specialist structural engineers Atelier One, the dome will first be built as a prototype by artists, college students and engineers at the Spode site in Stoke on March 19 and 20.
It will then be reassembled in Stoke’s market square on March 22, before being rebuilt in Middleport on March 29 for Brilliant Bamboo’s bamboo block party with Middleport Matters.
Brilliant Bamboo director Gemma Thomas said: “We will not only be creating a structure which demonstrates the strength of this natural material, but through this communal building experience we will also be learning about how we work together and understand each other. It’s as much about the process as it is the finished construction.”
This follows a successful 2023 installation at Keele University’s Green Festival, where a bamboo arch – created by Appetite, Imagine Bamboo and Atelier One – was tested by more than 150 people and even dogs on a bamboo swing. That project helped lay the foundations for Brilliant Bamboo’s ongoing exploration of bamboo as a sustainable and creative building material.
As part of its 2025 programme, Brilliant Bamboo is also set to host a talk with Atelier One founder Neil Thomas MBE and international bamboo master craftsman Jörg Stamm at the University of Staffordshire on Monday, March 31.
Aimed at anyone interested in construction, engineering, creativity and collaboration, the event will take place in the university’s Flaxman Theatre from 7pm to 8.30pm.
Tickets for the event, which can be booked online here, cost £10, with all proceeds going towards Brilliant Bamboo’s activities in Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire.
ENDS
Pic: The bamboo arch constructed at Keele University in 2023 by Appetite, Imagine Bamboo and Atelier One. Credit: Jenny Harper
If you would like to take photos of the dome being constructed at Spode on March 19 or March 20, please contact Gemma Thomas on [email protected] to confirm times.
Notes for editors
Formed in 2023 by Gemma Thomas, Brilliant Bamboo is a community interest company with a mission to bring together the arts, communities of North Staffordshire and professionals from across all sectors to explore growing, building, creating and playing with bamboo.
The organisation grew out of a project run by Imagine Bamboo, Appetite and Arts Keele, which brought together artists, academics, architects, engineers and communities to grow, build and consider what next for bamboo in North Staffordshire, connected to an international community.
