TANABATA Bamboo Fibonacci Tower
 AOI TOWER, Shizuoka, Japan
 ©2012 Akio Hizume

19th May - 3rd June 2012

I designed 8 meter height Bamboo Fibonacci Tower for the TANABATA Festival in Shizuoka Japan.
The TANABATA is an Asian Celestial Festival like Christmas in western culture.
The silhouette of the tower is catenary curve, that is, Antoni Gaudi used it frequently.

photo: Kazuko Yamamoto

Mr. Ishikami cut 50 MOSO bamboos for us.
They are 8 meter length each.

photo: Kazuko Yamamoto

I sorted and measured each bamboo poles arranging according to size with volunteers.

photo: Ryohei Aoki

The volunteer girls sawed off the thick bamboo poles.

photo: Kazuko Yamamoto

In parallel, volunteers made bamboo stakes.
We must prepare 300 stakes at least.

photo: Kazuko Yamamoto

It took for two days to cut the bamboo poles then I curried them by my small truck.

photo: Ryohei Aoki

We brought the bamboo poles in the museum's garage.
The garage was full of bamboo!

photo: Ryohei Aoki

I marked the points for drilling precisely.
The error must be within 1mm.

photo: Ryohei Aoki

I drilled pilot holes.
It must be as vertical as possible.

photo: Kazuko Yamamoto

Mr. Tanizawa who was one of volunteer drilled as finishing.

photo: Ryohei Aoki

After the work, we enjoyed playing the Fibonacci Kecak every day.

photo: Ryohei Aoki

In parallel, I prepared such wooden members for wall using 2*12 lumbers.

photo: Ryohei Aoki

One day before the construction, I placed the position of the tower on the spot.

photo: Kazuko Yamamoto

2nd of June, it was the construction day at last.
We must hold a ground-breaking ceremony.
Boy and girl wooden-staked bamboo as ceremony.

photo: Kazuko Yamamoto

I dropped SAKE on the some points of Bamboo joints.

photo: Kazuko Yamamoto

The scale model of tower and SAKE as an altar

photo: Kazuko Yamamoto

We prayed for the safe and success of construction.
It might be risky adventure.

photo: Kazuko Yamamoto

We started to construct.

photo: Ryohei Aoki

Very quick!

photo: Ryohei Aoki

photo: Arata Ikura

Volunteers passed me bamboo members like bucket brigade.

photo: Tomoko Ninomiya

3rd of June.
Usually I don't like high altitude.
But I have to be the highest altitude because of my own responsibility.

photo: Tomoko Ninomiya

Take just a weeny bit more!

photo: Tomoko Ninomiya

Complete!
It took 7 hours to construct total.

photo: Arata Ikura

Bottom up view

photo: Arata Ikura          Section 

I hung very heavy metal bell from top of the tower.
It makes the tower very stable against earthquake.
It is a seismically isolated structure like the five-story pagoda that Japanese ancient carpenter invented more than 1000 years ago.

photo: Arata Ikura

A commemorative photo with volunteers
Special Thanks
Arata Ikura
Eri Yoshida
Ryohei Aoki
Kazuko Yamamoto
Shizuoka City Museum of Art

Ishikami Chikuzai

Misa Hasegawa, Ayaka Noguchi, Rei Adachi, Riho Endo, Momoko Hiragaki, Arisa Nishi, Eri Kurokawa, Asuka Iohara, Ayaka Miura, Ruriko Katayama, Yukari Komoto, Kayo Yamamoto, Katsutoshi Tanizawa, Sayuri Kobayashi, Maki Iwakura, Megumi Ueta, Rina Nishino, Ayame Endo, Yuriko Tauchi, Hiroko Fujinami,Takashi Sakakibara, Saki Matsuda, Kasumi Sone, Wakana Maeshima, Kasumi Nishigaya, Emi Mizutani, Masaaki Nakagawa, Masaki Ono, Sayomi Aoyama
Satomi Akiba, Mio Akiba
Tomoko Ninomiya

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