Project Information
Name of the project: Buru Buru
Architects: The Bittertang Farm
Location: Lake Forest, Illinois
Year (project/construction): 2014
Consultants: Knippers Helbig Advanced Structural Engineering
Client: Ragdale Foundation
Construction Company: Work done by The Bittertang Farm and volunteers
Roberto Arguelles, Alvaro Ascencio, Adam Feldman, Efren
Garcia, Emily Gruendal, Dami Kim, Grace Kim, Victor Reyes, Vincent Ribeiro.
Buru Buru is a temporary amphitheater that merges together performance, spectators,
landscape, architecture and sculpture into a single form on the pastoral grounds of Ragdale.
Built out of hay, it is partially living, all organic and biodegradable and will transform the way that
we view and participate in 2014’s programming.
Using hay filled wattles, typically used for
erosion control, the structure appears to push from the ground amidst swirling forms. The front
side is open sharing similarities to a cave entrance or a grotto. The canopy allows for dappled
light to penetrate the cavernous interior as well as some of the vines to dangle into the space. At
dusk an array of LED’s from above will produce an artificial night sky above the performers.
Buru Buru’s flexible materiality allows it to perform both as growing medium, sitting surface and
canopy for performances. By season’s end most of the material will be composted to nourish
future gardens.
