Building Cultural Sustainability through Local Materials 
Food Trip Market, Valencia, Negros Oriental, Philippines

As part of a public-private initiative to boost food tourism on the island of Negros Oriental in the Philippines, the Food Trip Market gives the center of Valencia a distinctly local identity. The first phase of the market was constructed during the Philippines Bamboo Workshop, a four-week study abroad program that introduces students to bamboo construction as both a contemporary building craft, and as a medium for cross-cultural connection. In designing and building with bamboo—a traditionally significant yet often under-appreciated material—architecture students from the University of Washington in the U.S. and Foundation University in the Philippines are able to engage Filipino culture, both from an architectural and personal perspective. The program introduces students to the concept of cultural sustainability, which challenges the “one-size-fits-all” mentality of global development.

In preparation for construction, students completed a series of workshops at Bambus Collabo, a 2.3-hectare bamboo farm and work collective which hosts a bamboo nursery and studio for producing furniture and other handicrafts. There, students learned about bamboo growth, care, and harvesting from craftsmen, who also demonstrated joinery and lashing techniques.

After interviewing market vendors and presenting their proposal to city officials, students built the first phase of the structure with the assistance of local bamboo carpenters. Consisting of five 7.6-by-6.7-meter (25-by-22-foot) bays, it is constructed from spliced bamboo poles covered with split bamboo lath and nipa palm leaf thatching.