RNW, 26 March 2011, by RNW News Desk
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| (Photo: ANP) |
Costa Rica’s building bust made Dutch designer Erwin Schuster of Bamboo Groove Housing move back to Amsterdam to sell his steel-bamboo garden houses here in Holland, as well as Belgium and Germany.
After working for an Amsterdam design studio for over 12 years, Schuster and his partner moved to Costa Rica hoping to set up a bed-and-breakfast. Instead, he soon found himself building houses made of old containers and bamboo, something which had never been done before.
New opportunities
When, five years later, the global slump caught up with Costa Rica, buying a new house became cheaper than having one custom-built by Schuster. So a year ago he decided to return to Holland and create new opportunities here.
The environment and renewable energy are a key element of his designs. “Bamboo is an important alternative to wood”, he says in his Amsterdam home. “All you need to do is to chop it. No need to plant it again.” A bamboo grove graces the back of his garden, along with one of his own garden houses, which has a clean, modern look, typical Dutch Design. It’s a place to withdraw, read and think.
Bamboo roofDemand for his garden houses is up as a result of the same crisis that drove him back to Holland. As people are struggling and finding it harder to buy bigger houses, the garden house is an ideal solution to get more space. “With a bit of maintenance, my garden house lasts at least 30 years.”
In Amsterdam, he is also helping build a community centre--with a bamboo roof.
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