USJ’s Department of Architecture and Design Collaborates with Assumption University, Thailand, on Bamboo Design Applied Research Project
USJ’s Department of Architecture and Design Collaborates with Assumption University, Thailand, on Bamboo Design Applied Research Project
31
Aug
31/08/2026
Students and faculty from USJ and Assumption University, Thailand, have completed the design of a bamboo pavilion for a salt farm in Samut Songkhram, joining Macao’s work in temporary bamboo structures to Thailand’s tradition of permanent bamboo construction.
The Department of Architecture and Design of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities (FAH) at the University of Saint Joseph Macao (USJ) has concluded the design of a bamboo pavilion for the Samphaothong Sea Salt Farm in Samut Songkhram, Thailand, under Bamboo Architecture Training – A collaboration project between Macao and Thailand, an international applied research collaboration with the Montfort del Rosario School of Architecture and Design at Assumption University (AAU), Thailand. Between June and August 2026, students and faculty from both institutions worked together in Thailand and in Macao, from the first survey of the site to a complete set of construction documents.
Students and faculty from USJ and AAU during the AAU × USJ Bamboo+ Design Workshop 2026
The collaboration joined two approaches to building with bamboo. Since 2013, the architecture programmes at USJ have designed and built eighteen bamboo pavilions in Macao and mainland China, working with parametric design and digital fabrication in temporary structures. At AAU, bamboo is worked as a permanent construction material, governed by building codes, treatment protocols and long-term maintenance.
The project ran in three stages. It opened with the AAU × USJ Bamboo+ Design Workshop 2026, a field and studio workshop held at AAU in Thailand from 12 to 17 June 2026, where students visited a bamboo factory and studied the environmental, cultural and social conditions of the salt-farming community at Samphaothong. Working in mixed USJ–AAU groups supported by faculty tutors from both universities, the students developed the first concepts for the pavilion, which they set out in a public presentation session at the close of the workshop.
Students and faculty from USJ and AAU at Samphaothong Sea Salt Farm, Samut Songkhram, Thailand
Design review session at Assumption University, Thailand
A design phase followed at USJ’s Ilha Verde campus in Macao (18–26 June 2026), where the proposals were developed from concept into a resolved architectural design using parametric modelling and 3D printing, tested against physical scale models built in bamboo, with regular online sessions connecting the two schools. In July 2026 the construction documentation was consolidated at USJ and handed over to Assumption University for construction in Thailand.
Students working on the design development of the pavilion at USJ’s Ilha Verde campus, Macao
The resulting scheme is built on two intersecting volumes, one facing the salt farms and one facing visitors, meeting at a shared point of encounter, with a layout inspired by the salt farming process itself. It was resolved into a full set of architectural drawings, with bamboo specified by species, diameter, length and treatment, and particular attention given to the foundations and to the connections between poles, the key technical challenge of building with bamboo.
The collaboration was presented publicly in the exhibition “Bamboo Architecture – A Collaboration between Macao and Thailand”, with a dissemination event held on 31 August 2026 at USJ’s Ilha Verde campus, where the design, the technical drawings and the bamboo scale models were shown to the University community and to invited guests.
“Bamboo Architecture – A Collaboration between Macao and Thailand” exhibition at USJ’s Ilha Verde campus, Macao, 31 August 2026
Bamboo Architecture Training is part of the ongoing applied research activity of the Department of Architecture and Design and the Arch Centre of the FAH, which engages in international projects across Macao, mainland China, Southeast Asia, and Europe, connecting academic design research with local communities and building traditions.
This project is supported by the Education Fund of the Macao Special Administrative Region, under the Subsidy for Cooperative and Developmental Projects of Higher Education Institutions in Macao 2025/2026.
