thousands of hand-split bamboo strands weave curved tunnel by cave urban in sydney

What We Leave Behind forms a curved shell in front of MCA

Installed in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, What We Leave Behind is a temporary bamboo structure developed by Cave Urban for the 2025 Sydney Festival. Created in response to the festival’s theme, Birth, Destiny and What We Leave Behind, the woven installation explores spatial storytelling through material assembly, public interaction, and site-specific design.

The structure is constructed from 500 locally sourced bamboo poles, hand-split into over 2,500 individual strands. These were woven over a ten-day period to form a curved, tunnel-like shell extending 40 metres in length and rising to over seven metres in height. The installation was developed in collaboration with the public, who contributed handwritten messages directly onto 8-metre-long bamboo strips. These inscriptions, totalling 25,000, were integrated into the structure, becoming both surface and narrative elements. Designed to allow full pedestrian passage, the tunnel widens and rises in height as one moves through it. The curvature is calculated to disrupt a direct line of sight, encouraging users to experience the structure as a sequence of changing spatial conditions. The tunnel’s entrance was positioned to frame a view toward the Sydney Opera House, while its arching form echoes that of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, establishing visual and material dialogue with the surrounding context.

all images by Juan Pablo Pinto unless stated otherwise

Community members join Cave Urban in the making of the pavilion

Material selection played a central role in the project’s design logic. Bamboo was chosen for its availability, tensile strength, flexibility, and ease of manual processing. Its curved form enabled the construction of a lightweight yet stable structural shell approximately 5 cm thick. The golden tone of the bamboo visually connects with the adjacent sandstone facade of the MCA, while its woven construction contrasts with the geometric rigidity of the museum’s architecture.

The installation process involved collaboration between Cave Urban’s team and skilled practitioners, as well as untrained participants. The complexity of the structure required a responsive construction method in which community members contributed directly to the making. The site operated as a collective fabrication space, where material preparation and weaving took place simultaneously. This public involvement formed an integral part of the spatial and conceptual outcome. What We Leave Behind functions as a spatial record of participatory engagement, constructed with impermanence in mind. Its formal language and assembly process reflect themes of interconnection, accumulation, and collective authorship within a contemporary urban context.

a 40-metre-long bamboo tunnel installed in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney

constructed using over 2,500 hand-split bamboo strands woven over ten days

the entrance aligns with a framed view toward the Sydney Opera House

bamboo was selected for its tensile strength, flexibility, and availability

designed to allow full pedestrian passage through a widening and rising interior

the tunnel’s curvature disrupts direct sightlines, shaping a layered spatial experience | image by Victor Frankowski

What We Leave Behind documents a shared act of temporary construction

the structure embodies themes of interconnection, impermanence, and spatial narrative

a temporary installation that connects material, memory, and community | image by Chloé Lindsay Daye

developed by Cave Urban for the 2025 Sydney Festival | image by Neil Bennett

each bamboo strip carried messages written by members of the public | image by Chloé Lindsay Daye

tublic participation played a central role in both material preparation and construction | image by Neil Bennett

the collaborative process included both experienced builders and first-time participants

25,000 handwritten public messages were integrated into the bamboo surface | image by Nergal U-Khan

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image by Alexi Lookingston

image by Alexi Lookingston

 

image by Nici Long

project info:

name: What We Leave Behind
designer: Juan Pablo Pinto
designer: Cave Urban | @caveurban

area: 200 sqm
dimensions: 40m (L) x 7m (W) x 4.5m (H)

location: Museum of Contemporary Art Forecourt, Tallawoladah Lawn, Circular Quay, Sydney, Australia

client: Sydney Festival
lead designer: Juan Pablo Pinto
design team: Nici Long, Jed Long, Mercurio Alvarado, Maeve Corke Butters, Erin Zikos, May Baker, Hamish Shorrocks, Taya Solomon, Honey Long, Prue Stent
engineer: Event Engineering
steel tie-down: Eveleigh Works

harvesting volunteers: Alexia Dermatis, Alfredo Santos Ramírez, Alicia Mardones, Angela Ha, Ashleigh Williams, Atheer Albokhari, Audrey See, Bethany Chamberlain, Célia Lesigne, Dena Rubinstein, Emma Cao, Federico Riches, Isabella Massa, Juliet Nelson, Katie Hubbard, Kevin Zhen, Krishna Patil, Meiling Kwok, Mia Margolis, Nejala Janiola, Pete Deards, Sarah Ong, Sheen Parimoo, Suki Fong, Ting Ting Mabel Loon, Tiresi Kirby, Yuting Zhang

building volunteers: Alessia Francesca Picarel, Alexia Dermatis, Alicia Mardones, Annie Boman, Ashleigh Williams, Bethany Hooper, Billy Hyman, Bridget Annand, Camila Strang, Charu Kukreja, Chloé Lindsay Daye, Christopher Papaioannou, Dena Rubinstein, Emma Cao, Fatima Harun, Iris Xiao, Isabella Zhou, Jason Mumford, Jedda Ayling, Kate Riley, Katie Graham, Kelcie Bryant‐Duguid, Kevin Zhen, Kyo Kim, Laura Cimilo, Laura Fisher, Lilah Shapiro, Linda Agresti, Lisa Stevenson, Liz Mayberry, Lois Hyatt, Maisie Rose Nugent, Meiling Kwok, Mia Margolis, Mikayla Earnshaw, Nejala Janiola, Pete Deards, Rizal Mahoney, Robi Stanton, Sarah Ong, Seamus Fitzpatrick, Sheen Parimoo, Sirintra Sriwattanavanit, Tamara Bowman, Yuanqi Jia, Yuting Zhang, Zoe Hyatt, Zoe Pan