Bamboo Construction
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Bamboo construction involves the use of
bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial plant, perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily (biology), subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in th ...
as a
building material Building material is material used for construction. Many naturally occurring substances, such as clay, rocks, sand, wood, and even twigs and leaves, have been used to construct buildings and other structures, like bridges. Apart from natur ...
for
scaffolding Scaffolding, also called scaffold or staging, is a temporary structure used to support a work crew and materials to aid in the construction, maintenance and repair of buildings, bridges and all other human-made structures. Scaffolds are widely u ...
,
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
s, houses and buildings. Bamboo, like
wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...
, is a natural
composite material A composite or composite material (also composition material) is a material which is produced from two or more constituent materials. These constituent materials have notably dissimilar chemical or physical properties and are merged to create a ...
with a high strength-to-weight ratio useful for structures. Bamboo's strength-to-weight ratio is similar to
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
, and its strength is generally similar to a strong
softwood Scots pine, a typical and well-known softwood Softwood is wood from gymnosperm trees such as conifers. The term is opposed to hardwood, which is the wood from angiosperm trees. The main differences between hardwoods and softwoods is that the sof ...
or
hardwood Hardwood is wood from Flowering plant, angiosperm trees. These are usually found in broad-leaved temperate and tropical forests. In temperate and boreal ecosystem, boreal latitudes they are mostly deciduous, but in tropics and subtropics mostl ...
timber.


Historic use of bamboo for construction

In its natural form, bamboo as a construction material is traditionally associated with the cultures of
South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...
,
East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. It includes China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan, plus two special administrative regions of China, Hong Kong and Macau. The economies of Economy of China, China, Economy of Ja ...
, the South Pacific, and Central and
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
. In
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, bamboo was used to hold up
simple suspension bridge A simple suspension bridge (also rope bridge, swing bridge (in New Zealand), suspended bridge, hanging bridge and catenary bridge) is a primitive type of bridge in which the deck of the bridge lies on two parallel load-bearing cables that ar ...
s, either by making cables of split bamboo or twisting whole culms of sufficiently pliable bamboo together. One such bridge in the area of Qian-Xian is referenced in writings dating back to 960 AD and may have stood since as far back as the third century BC, due largely to continuous maintenance. Bamboo has also long been used as scaffolding; the practice has been banned in mainland China for buildings over six stories, but is still in continuous use for skyscrapers in Hong Kong. In the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
, the ''
bahay kubo The ''báhay kúbo'', ''kubo'', or ''payág'' (in the Visayan languages), is a type of stilt house indigenous to the Philippines. It is the traditional basic design of houses among almost all lowlander and coastal cultures throughout the Phi ...
'' (also known as the "nipa hut") is a fairly typical example of traditional
housing Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...
where bamboo is extensively used; the walls are split and woven bamboo known as ''
amakan Amakan, also known as sawali in the northern Philippines, is a type of traditional bamboo weaving, woven split-bamboo mats used as walls, paneling, or Siding (construction), wall cladding in the Philippines. They are woven into various intricate ...
'', bamboo poles may be used as structural posts and beams, the flooring can be made from split bamboo planks (overlaid with woven ''
banig Baníg ( ) are traditional handwoven mats of the Philippines predominantly used as a sleeping mat or a floor mat. Banig mats are typically made from pandanus or sedge leaves. They can also utilize other materials, including buri palm leaves, ree ...
'' mats), and the roof can be made from halved bamboo sections known as . Many of these elements are deliberately light and permeable, allowing air to enter and circulate. Traditionally, bamboo structures in the Philippines are put together without nails, relying on fitted joints and bamboo pegs. In
Japanese architecture has been typified by wooden structures, elevated slightly off the ground, with tiled or thatched roofs. Sliding doors ('' fusuma'') and other traditional partitions were used in place of walls, allowing the internal configuration of a space ...
, bamboo is used primarily as a supplemental and/or decorative element in buildings such as fencing, fountains, grates and gutters, largely due to the ready abundance of quality timber. In parts of India, bamboo is used for drying clothes indoors, both as a rod high up near the ceiling to hang clothes on, and as a stick wielded with acquired expert skill to hoist, spread, and to take down the clothes when dry. It is also commonly used to make ladders, which apart from their normal function, are also used for carrying bodies in funerals. In
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
, the bamboo groves and forests are called Veluvana, the name ''velu'' for bamboo is most likely from
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
, while ''vana'' means forest. Furthermore, bamboo is also used to create flagpoles. In Central and South America, bamboo has formed an essential part of the construction culture. Vernacular forms of housing such as
bahareque , also spelled (also referred to in spanish as ''bajareque'' or ''fajina''), is a traditional building technique used in the construction of housing by indigenous peoples. The constructions are developed using a system of interwoven sticks or re ...
have developed that use bamboo in highly seismic areas. When well-maintained and in good condition, these have been found to perform surprisingly well in earthquakes.


Modern use of bamboo round poles for construction

Over the past few decades, there has been a growing interest in using bamboo round poles for construction, primarily because of its sustainability. Famous bamboo
architects An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
and builders include Simón Velez, Marcelo Villegas, Oscar Hidalgo-López, Jörg Stamm, Vo Trong Nghia,
Elora Hardy Elora Hardy (born 1980) is a Canadian designer, who founded the company IBUKU. She is most well known for designing (along with her team IBUKU and her father John Hardy) a community of bamboo homes near Denpasar in Bali. She was born in Canada, gre ...
and John Hardy. To date, the most high-profile bamboo construction projects have tended to be in
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, Bali (Indonesia), China and
Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
. The greatest advancements in structural use of bamboo have been in Colombia, where Universities have been conducting significant research into element and joint design and large high-profile buildings and bridges have been constructed. In
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, bamboo have been studied for more than 40 years at the
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (; PUC-Rio) is a Jesuit, Catholic, pontifical university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the joint responsibility of the Catholic Archdiocese of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro and the So ...
PUC-Rio for structural applications. Some important results are the tensegrity bamboo structures, the bamboo bicycles, the bamboo space structure with rigid steel joints, the deployable bamboo structure pavilions with flexible joints and the bamboo active bending-pantographic amphitheater structure developed by Bambutec Design company.


Structural design codes

The first structural design codes for bamboo in-the-round were published by ISO in 2004 (ISO 22156 Bamboo - structural design, ISO 22157-1 Bamboo – Determination of Physical and Mechanical properties part 1 and ISO 22157-2 Bamboo – Determination of Physical and Mechanical properties part 2: Laboratory manual. Colombia was the first country to publish a country-specific code in the structural use of bamboo (NSR-10 G12). Since then, Ecuador, Peru, India and Bangladesh have all published codes, however the Colombian code is still widely considered to be the most reliable and comprehensive.


Curved structural shapes

Heat and pressure is sometimes traditionally used to form curved shapes in bamboo.


Durability

Bamboo is more susceptible to decay than timber, due to a lack of natural toxins . and its typically thin walls, which means that a small amount of decay can mean a significant percentage change in capacity. There are three causes of decay: beetle attack, termite attack and fungal attack (rot).. Untreated bamboo can last 2–6 years internally, and less than a year if exposed to water. In order to protect bamboo from decay, two design principles are required: # The bamboo must be kept dry throughout its life to protect it against rot (
fungi A fungus (: fungi , , , or ; or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and mold (fungus), molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as one ...
). This fundamental architectural principle is called "durability by design", and involves keeping the bamboo dry through good design practices such as elevating the structure above the ground, using damp proof membranes, having good drip details, having good roof overhangs, using waterproof coatings for the walls, etc. # The bamboo must be treated to protect it against insects (namely beetles and termites). The most common and appropriate chemical to treat bamboo is boron, normally either a mixture of
borax The BORAX Experiments were a series of safety experiments on boiling water nuclear reactors conducted by Argonne National Laboratory in the 1950s and 1960s at the National Reactor Testing Station in eastern Idaho.
and
boric acid Boric acid, more specifically orthoboric acid, is a compound of boron, oxygen, and hydrogen with formula . It may also be called hydrogen orthoborate, trihydroxidoboron or boracic acid. It is usually encountered as colorless crystals or a white ...
, but it also comes in one compound (di-sodium tetraborate decahydrate). Both principles must be applied to a design in order to protect bamboo. Boron by itself is inadequate to protect against rot, and it will wash out if exposed to water. Modern fixed preservatives may be used as alternatives to boron such as copper azole, however little bamboo has been reliably tested using these methods to date. In addition, they tend to be more hazardous for the treatment workers and the end user, and therefore are less appropriate for developing countries, which is where bamboo is currently mostly used. Natural forms of bamboo treatment such as soaking in water and exposing to smoke may provide some limited protection against beetles, however, there is little evidence to show they are effective against termites and rot, and are therefore not typically used in modern construction..


Modern use of laminated bamboo for construction

Bamboo can be cut and laminated into sheets and planks. This process involves cutting stalks into thin strips, planing them flat, and drying the strips; they are then glued, pressed and finished. Long used in China and Japan, entrepreneurs started developing and selling laminated
bamboo floor Bamboos are a diverse group of mostly evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family, in the case of '' Dendrocalamus sinicus'' ...
ing in the West during the mid-1990s; products made from bamboo laminate, including flooring, cabinetry, furniture and even decorations, are currently surging in popularity, transitioning from the boutique market to mainstream providers such as
Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...
. The bamboo goods industry (which also includes small goods, fabric, etc.) is expected to be worth $25 billion by 2012. The quality of bamboo laminate varies among manufacturers and varies according to the maturity of the plant from which it was harvested (six years being considered the optimum).


Common myths and misconceptions in the use of bamboo for construction

There are a number of common myths and misconceptions surrounding the use of bamboo for construction.


Myth 1: "''Bamboo is stronger than steel.''"

This misunderstanding may have occurred due to the following reasons: # Since bamboo has strength-to-weight ratio similar to mild steel, some people conflate this with actual strength. # A few laboratory tests have shown some parts of some species of some culms to have ultimate strengths in tension approaching mild steel (250N/mm2). If some fibres of some species show relatively high strengths, following international practice, the design strength that can be safely used is closer to 5–10% of this value, to account for the variability of the strengths.


Myth 2: "''Bamboo only needs to be treated to protect it from decay.''"

As described above, bamboo needs to be kept dry in order to protect it from rot, and many existing bamboo structures are showing signs of rot because they did not follow the principles of durability by design.


Myth 3: "''Bamboo performs well in earthquakes because it 'sways' and 'absorbs energy'.''"

Bamboo is a brittle material and therefore by itself is unable to absorb energy in earthquakes. There is also no advantage of its low stiffness in terms of the performance of bamboo buildings in earthquakes. Instead, bamboo structures are primarily good in earthquakes because: . # They tend to be light. # Joints in bamboo buildings are able to absorb some energy.


Myth 4: "''Bolted connections cannot be used in bamboo structures.''"

Plain bolted connections can show brittle behavior due to longitudinal splitting of bamboo culms. Providing confinement to bamboo culms at the connection zones increases resistance to this failure mode and brings significant improvement to strength and ductility. More importantly, bolted connections display predictable yielding. This is vital for performing a rational engineered design. The bolts are also widely available, easy-to-use and versatile.


Myth 5: "''Bamboo can be used as a replacement for steel in reinforcement.''"

This misconception stems from the original idea that bamboo is stronger than steel, and hence could simply replace steel in reinforced concrete. In reality, bamboo does not function well as a replacement for steel in concrete for the following reasons: * Bamboo has ≈1/30th of the capacity of high yield steel which is most commonly now used in construction, so one would need 30× extra material. There is no space for this in reinforced concrete. * To ensure a proper connection between the bamboo and the concrete, one needs to use expensive chemicals to form the bond, which are bad for the environment. * Concrete is unable to protect the bamboo from fungal and termite attack. * Bamboo is a brittle material and cannot absorb energy in an earthquake, unlike steel. * Concrete reinforced with bamboo has a higher environmental impact than concrete reinforced with steel.


Case studies

Bamboo was used for the structural members of the India pavilion at
Expo 2010 Expo 2010, officially the Expo 2010 Shanghai China, was held on both banks of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, from 1 May to 31 October 2010. It was a major World Expo registered by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), in the ...
in Shanghai. The pavilion is the world's largest bamboo dome, about in diameter, with bamboo beams/members overlaid with a ferro-concrete slab, waterproofing, copper plate, solar PV panels, a small windmill, and live plants. A total of of bamboo was used. The dome is supported on 18-m-long steel piles and a series of steel ring beams. The bamboo was treated with borax and boric acid as a fire retardant and insecticide and bent in the required shape. The bamboo sections were joined with reinforcement bars and concrete mortar to achieve the necessary lengths. Bamboo has been used successfully for housing in Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Colombia, Mexico, Nepal and the Philippines. An appropriate way of using bamboo for housing is considered to be "bahareque encemendato", or "improved bahareque"/"engineered bahareque".. This method takes the Latin America vernacular construction system
bahareque , also spelled (also referred to in spanish as ''bajareque'' or ''fajina''), is a traditional building technique used in the construction of housing by indigenous peoples. The constructions are developed using a system of interwoven sticks or re ...
(a derivative of
wattle and daub Wattle and daub is a composite material, composite building method in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called "wattle (construction), wattle" is "daubed" with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, and ...
) and engineers it, making it considerably more durable and resistant to earthquakes and typhoons.
Panyaden International School Panyaden International School (, ) is an international school for both preschool (nursery and kindergarten) primary and secondary children south of Chiang Mai (north Thailand). The school was founded to deliver a holistic education that integrates ...
in northern
Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...
expanded its campus with a bamboo sports hall designed by Chiangmai Life Architects. Inspired by the lotus flower, the hall spans 782 square meters and includes courts for various sports and a liftable stage. The innovative design uses prefabricated bamboo trusses spanning over 17 meters, ensuring the structure can withstand high-speed winds and
earthquakes An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they c ...
. The hall's natural ventilation and insulation provide year-round comfort, while its use of bamboo maintains a
zero-carbon Global net-zero emissions is reached when greenhouse gas emissions and removals due to human activities are in balance. It is often called simply net zero. ''Emissions'' can refer to all greenhouse gases or only carbon dioxide (). Reaching net ze ...
footprint. Bamboo is one of the primary materials for the flood resistant homes in Pakistan designed by Yasmeen Lari. The technique is derived from the vernacular tradition of Sindh. It uses bamboo and mud brick.


Cultivation


Harvesting

Bamboo used for construction purposes must be harvested when the culms reach their greatest strength and when sugar levels in the
sap Sap is a fluid transported in the xylem cells (vessel elements or tracheids) or phloem sieve tube elements of a plant. These cells transport water and nutrients throughout the plant. Sap is distinct from latex, resin, or cell sap; it is a s ...
are at their lowest, as high sugar content increases the ease and rate of pest infestation. Harvesting of bamboo is typically undertaken according to the following cycles: ;Life cycle of the culm :As each individual culm goes through a 5–7 year life cycle, culms are ideally allowed to reach this level of maturity prior to full capacity harvesting. The clearing out or thinning of culms, particularly older decaying culms, helps to ensure adequate light and resources for new growth. Well-maintained clumps may have a productivity 3–4× that of an unharvested wild clump. Consistent with the life cycle described above, bamboo is harvested from two to three years through to five to seven years, depending on the species. ;Annual cycle :As all growth of new bamboo occurs during the
wet season The wet season (sometimes called the rainy season or monsoon season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. Generally, the season lasts at least one month. The term ''green season'' is also sometimes used a ...
, disturbing the clump during this phase will potentially damage the upcoming crop. Also during this high rainfall period, sap levels are at their highest, and then diminish towards the
dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The t ...
. Picking immediately prior to the wet/growth season may also damage new shoots. Hence, harvesting is best a few months prior to the start of the wet season. ;Daily cycle :During the height of the day,
photosynthesis Photosynthesis ( ) is a system of biological processes by which photosynthetic organisms, such as most plants, algae, and cyanobacteria, convert light energy, typically from sunlight, into the chemical energy necessary to fuel their metabo ...
is at its peak, producing the highest levels of sugar in sap, making this the least ideal time of day to harvest. Many traditional practitioners believe the best time to harvest is at dawn or dusk on a waning moon.


Additional images

File:Usage of Bamboo.JPG, Bamboo has long been used as an assembly material in
Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...
because of its versatility File:Ecuador Mindo Bamboo house.jpg, A bamboo and palm thatch house in
Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
File:Chakma woman weaving on balcony of bamboo house Chittagong Hill Tracts.jpg, Chakma woman weaving on balcony of bamboo house, Chittagong Hill Tracts File:Konstruksi bambu.jpg, A bamboo house in
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
File:Nipa Hut taken at Magdalena Laguna Philippines on 2011 April photo 21.jpg, A nipa hut or ''
bahay kubo The ''báhay kúbo'', ''kubo'', or ''payág'' (in the Visayan languages), is a type of stilt house indigenous to the Philippines. It is the traditional basic design of houses among almost all lowlander and coastal cultures throughout the Phi ...
'' is a type of stilt house in the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...


See also

* Bamboo bicycle *
Bamboo textiles Bamboo textile is any cloth, yarn or clothing made from bamboo fibres. While bamboo was historically used only for structural elements, such as bustles and the ribs of corsets, in recent years various technologies have been developed that allow ...
*
International Network for Bamboo and Rattan The International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR) is an independent intergovernmental organization established in 1997 to develop and promote innovative solutions to poverty and environmental sustainability using bamboo and rattan. Histo ...


References


External links

{{Commons category-inline, Bamboo houses
Elora Hardy: Magical houses, made of bamboo
at TED
Arup: Full-scale shake-table test of earthquake-proof housing for El Salvador

Bambutec Design: Deployable Bamboo Structure Pavilion
Bamboo buildings and structures Building materials