Introduction It is the biggest grass in the world, it is the food of panda, and the shoots taste really nice in stir-fry. This was really all I knew about bamboo before coming to Sabah. Well, working with Arkitrek changed that, particularly through working on the Lupa Masa project. I am fascinated by the fast growth rate, negligible embodied energy, and extensive applications. In many instances it can be a viable substitute for hardwoods. When striving to build with minimal environmental impact it is the wonder material! Genus...

Down To Earth Matters: Environmentally Responsible Sewage Treatments The following article appeared in the 2011 1st Quarter edition of Futur Arc magazine By Sarah Greenlees We have treated the oceans as a “supermarket and a sewer;” Sylvia Earle, a prominent oceanographer and conservationist, was recently quoted to say in Time magazine [i]. As a result we put at risk the earth’s capacity to balance carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere as well as destroying some of the least explored ecosystems. A recent...

By Ian Hall Sarah Greenlees is Arkitrek’s 2nd volunteer and came to Sabah in November 2009 to help oversee the renovation of the main lodge building at Borneo Rainforest Lodge. Her contribution was essential as the tight timescale and unpredictable nature of renovation work meant that an architect was required on site full time. Although the lodge was closed for the duration of the renovation work, luckily for Sarah not all the kitchen and restaurant staff were on holiday. Sumptuous meals on the balcony with contactor...

Text and images by Sarah Greenlees Starting as an epiphyte and often ending up as freestanding trees, strangler figs (genus ficus, subgenus urostigma) are dynamic and dramatic members of the forest structure, they can also be surprisingly architectural. Degrees of Enclosure Though all the forest provides shelter in some capacity, figs provide it in a very literal, enclosing fashion, at a series of scales. On the smallest scale, protective shells lined with spongy material and flowers provide shelter for tiny gall wasps....