BAMBOO CONSTRUCTION

building unit & techniques

LOW COST BUILDINGS

)

Distribution of Bamboo

Asia-Pacific

Bamboo Region
Being the largest bamboo region in the world, Asia-Pacific bamboo region
lies south
to New Zealand (of south latitude 42), north to Karafuto (of south latitude
51), east to
Pacific Ocean islands and west to the southwest India Ocean. There are
about 900
species in 50 genera of bamboo plants in this region, among which the
ratio is 3/5 as
clustered bamboo and 2/5 as scattered bamboo, and only 100 species that
hold
economic value. There are some major countries like China, India, Burma,
Thailand,
Bengal, Kampuchea, Vietnam, Japan, India Nicene, Malaysia, Philippine,
Korea, Sri
Lanka, where bamboo can be grown.

State wise distribution of Bamboo in India

Basic Properties of Bamboo

Material

Physical and Mechanical Properties

The physical and mechanical properties of bamboo include the
following basic parameters: volume weight, moisture content
of bamboo, the rate of shrinkage, and material strength.
Basic Volume Weight
The bamboo weight of unit volume is defined as volume
weight or specific gravity. Generally, we defined the ratio of
the maximum volume that bamboo is absorbing water enough
and the oven dry of weight as the volume weight. The volume
weight of bamboo is different as the different part of bamboo,
bamboos age, growth surrounding and bamboo genus, which
is about 0.6~0.8.

The Volume Weight of Different Bamboo

Genera

Moisture

Content

The moisture content of bamboo is defined as the ratio of

water content and the oven-dried weight of bamboo, which
is relate to the age and part of bamboo, and the different
seasons. The moisture content of fresh bamboo is
The80%~100%.
Moisture Content in Different Bamboo Genera

 Rate

of Shrinkage

Fresh bamboo will lose the water during the drying, which
can make it shrinkage. The bamboo shrinkage rate is less
than other woods and the significant difference is that it
shrinks in its all directions. Generally, shrinkage rate of
tangential is bigger than the radial. So the bamboo stem
will be slim not short if it is losing water to shrink.

The Shrinkage Rates Test in Different Bamboo Genera

Mechanical Strength

Bamboo produces the resistance against the external force and it

is called the mechanical strength, the unit is MPa. The strength of
extension of bamboo is 2~25 times than the wood, and the
strength of compression is 1.5~2 times than the wood.

Various Mechanical Strength of bamboo (MPa

Chemical Properties

The

main chemical composition of bamboo is fibrin, lignin, xylose, besides, the other
composition is substances of solution extraction and ashes. With bamboo maturing,
the content of ashes, hot water-extraction substance, 1% of NaOH-extraction
substance and benzene alcohol substance will decrease, and the content of fibrin,
lignin, xylose, total methoxyl group will increase. Besides, the content of
C6H10O5 n is very small. The chemical composition of bamboo is close to the
broad-leaved forest. Except for the alkalinity-extraction substance, the content of
ashes and silicon is higher than the timber. Bamboo is comprised of multi-chemical
constitution, which distribute unevenly and of various macromolecule polymer that
compound together. There is distinct difference among the content of various bamboo
genus depending on the different bamboo genus. And there is also some certain
variation among the same bamboo genus for their gene and ecological environment.
Even in one bamboo, the content of various chemical compositions is different
depending on the different height and thickness of bamboo.
We must first of all consider the physical traits of bamboo while utilizing it. But the
chemical composition of bamboo, which endows the bamboo with certain intension
and other various physical mechanics traits, is the key factor of influencing the quality
and utilization of bamboo. Lignin is the main reason of high longitudinal tensile
strength of bamboo. Hemicellulose and lignin stick the xylogen cells together and
support the cellulose backbone, which endow the bamboo with the ideal elasticity and
compressive strength.

Mechanical Property of different bamboo genera

(moisture content 12%

The chemical composition comparison of 4

bamboo genus in different parts and age

The chemical composition of different

bamboo genus %

In a wet condition, after removing the large lignin and hemicellulose, the
bamboo strength will reduce significantly. Owing to the effect of chemical
composition of bamboo, mainly free hydroxyl from the cellulose link
molecule, it can make the bamboo some certain moisture adsorption.
Hygroscopic expansion and drying shrinkage of bamboo have the trait of
anisotropism. It is usually small change about the axial dimension and big
change about the crosswise dimension. Lignin also endows the bamboo
with certain dimension stability for its holding the water adsorption space
among the bamboo cell wall.
Cellulose crystallinity is important to the bamboo quality. The ratio of
crystal and amorphous area of bamboo is directly related to the bamboo,
fiber and sheets. And the bending resistance, extensibility, expansion and
shrinkage, the adhesion, dyeing and 12 tearing of fiber, and chemical
medicine resistance, which is influenced by cellulose Crystallinity.
Digestion matters of bamboo lie in the lumen of bamboo texture, also
precipitate in the cell wall and pit orifice, thus they hinder the bamboo from
penetrating. This situation is also the reason for influencing the penetration
of chemical agent, during process of the prevention of corrosion and mould
proofing.

Major Uses of Bamboo Material

Bamboo can be cut annually with rapid growth and high yield, and it
realizes its key function during the developing economy. Therefore,
bamboo is named as the timber of poor people. Bamboo has a very
wide use, and it includes the usage of tradition and modern,
papermaking, waste utilization, and environmental protection.

The utilization of
bamboo in the
living of local
residents, Yunnan

Main Usage
Traditional

Usage
(1) Utilization of bamboos rending trait: weaving the utensil, such as
bamboo curtain, bamboo mat, bamboo shed, bamboo fence, fan
bone, umbrella bone, and lantern.
(2) Utilization of bamboos loading capacity: sun pole, flagpole,
stretcher, scaffold, chopstick, mine prop, beam-column, jamb,
floorboard, bridge, raft, and so on. 13
(3) Utilization of bamboos elasticity: bow, crossbow, and fish pole.
(4) Utilization of bamboos resistance: bed pole, undercarriage, walk
stick, umbrella haft, bracing pole, bamboo nail, and bamboo band.
(5) Utilization of bamboos hollow: Chinese wheel, water bucket, water
pipe, flue, blowpipe, bamboo vase, and flute.
(6) Utilization of bamboos external appearance: bamboo funiculus,
gabion, craft, and toy.
Its traditional habit for the ethnic minority in southern and
western Yunnan province to use the bamboo to do something, like
bamboo houses, bamboo mat, bamboo hat, fuel bamboo, baby
bamboo, bridge, raft.

 Head

of the NID Centre for Bamboo Initiatives.

Principal Designer and Faculty, National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
(NID).
Born in Madras in 1950.
After finishing school in 1969 he studied furniture design at NID, where he
also began teaching in 1972.
For a short while, between 1974 and 1976, worked as a professional designer
in Madras before returning to NID as a full time faculty member in 1976.

For the past two years he has been on the NID

Governing Council occupying the faculty
representative seat on the Council.
He has held many administrative positions at
NID and is currently Head of the NID Centre
for Bamboo Initiatives.

Prof. M P Ranjan, Ahmedabad (India)

Since 1976 he has been responsible for the creation and conduct of
numerous courses at NID in Ahmedabad, dealing with design theory and
methodology, product and furniture design and numerous domains of
digital design.
He has conducted research in many areas of design pedagogy, industrial
and craft design and on the role of design policy in various sectors of the
Indian economy.
Besides publishing several papers on design and craft he has edited
numerous NID publications including the Young Designers series and is
author of a major book titled Bamboo and Cane Crafts of Northeast India
(1986)
Two CD-ROMs titled Bamboo Boards and Beyond (2001)
Beyond Grassroots (2003) which contain all his papers and reports on
bamboo and on design.
He was responsible for the creation of the Indian Institute of Crafts and
Design at Jaipur and he acted as its director in the formative stages.
He helped redefine the Bamboo & Cane Development Institute, Agartala,
and set up the programmes to establish the new format.

He has advised the State Governement of Uttaranchal in defining their

strategy for bamboo-based resource development and institution-building
strategies.
As a professional designer he has handled many design projects for
industry, government and international agencies in areas of product
design, interior design, exhibition design, craft design and design policy.
As Chairman of NIDs Design Consulting Office from 1981 to 1991 he
was responsible for managing over four hundred professional design
projects handled by the Institute in that period.
He headed NIDs Publications and Resource Centre managed Information
Technology initiatives in his capacity as Chairman of the Computer Centre
and Head of the Apple Academy at NID.
He completed several major projects for the United Nations Development
Programme and Government agencies to demonstrate the role of bamboo
as a sustainable craft and industrial material of the future.
These innovations contributed to the creation of new strategies for the use
of bamboo in India.
He is an advisor to many state and central government ministries in
formulating strategies for the future use of bamboo and design for
development.

SANJEEV
2006

SHANKAR

M. Des. (Masters in Industrial Design), Industrial Design Centre, IIT

Bombay, India
2006 DAAD Scholarship, Technical University Munich, Germany
2004 B. Arch. (Bachelors in Architecture), School of Planning and Architecture,
India
AWARDS AND HONORS
2008

Winner, Paul Foundation grant, India

2008 Part of a winning team for a school redevelopment public art proposal in
Toronto
2007 Part of a winning team for a pedestrian bridge public art proposal near New
York
2006 Recipient of DAAD fellowship from Germany
2006 Recipient of Teaching Assistantship from IIT Bombay for two years, India
2006 Indian entry for RED DOT product design concept award, Singapore
2006 Finalist for IYDEY(International Young Design Entrepreneur of the year)
award by British Council, India
2004 Gold Medal recipient for Architecture
1999 Selected to design tensile structures for India International Trade Fair,
Delhi, India
1999 Recipient of Merit cum Means fellowship for five years from School of
Planning and Architecture, India
1998 Recipient of Indian Air Force fellowship for two years, India

WORK EXPERIENCE

2008 Design researcher for FoAM, interdisciplinary research firm in Brussels and
Amsterdam
2007 Design Consultant for FoAM, on WcCafe project, Singapore
2007 Collaborated and assisted Catherine Widgery in public art installations in
USA, Canada and India
2006 Creative designer with Landor for Armani hotel and Burj Dubai projects in
UAE
2006 Conceptual designer for Bauma 2007_ exhibition design with Architopia
in Germany
2006 Collaborative work at Technical University Munich to create an interactive
social platform for Europe
2005 Product designer at Toehold to develop culture specific shoes in India
2005 Product designer at Cane Concepts for designing bamboo and rattan
products in India
2003 Junior Architect for Dubai Autodrome with HOK-SVE architecture firm in
UAE
2002 Junior Architect for Design Combine architecture firm in India
2001 Junior Architect for Inside-Out interior design firm in India

Architectural Firm
Kengo Kuma &
Associates

Kengo Kuma
Designer

Location:
Commune By
The Great Wall,
Shuiguanbadaling, China

Year
-2002

Great (bamboo) wall

The house,
with its long,
horizontal
profile, is
designed to
mimic the
great wall,
which runs
along the
ridgeline
above.

Both inside
and on exterior
walkways,
Kuma plays up
the contrast
between the
polished
marble
flooring and
the rough
bamboo
siding.

SITE PLAN

The tall windows of the living

room provide expansive views of
lush hillside nearby.

Both the kitchen and the dinning

room have a bamboo-clad
ceiling.

Of bamboo, the architect says he finds

"charms in the material,s weakness."

Kengo kuma's bamboo

house north of beijing
includes an open-air tea
house, which seems to flot
above a shallow reflecting
pool. The space provides
views of the surrounding
hillside, on top of which the
great wall itself stands.

 On a slope near the village of Karjat,

India, a team of architects have begun
to envision a modern, 3-story building
that will peer out into the valley
through a veil of bamboo poles.
Designed by Architecture Brio, the
building will act as a staff dormitory
for the NGO Magic Bus.
The buildings structure is modern and
rectangular, but softened by the more
rustic feel of its bamboo exterior.
By using bamboo, a rapidly renewable
resource, as a primary supporting
material, the buildings design is both
sustainable and feels like an organic
manifestation of the surrounding
landscape.

Architecture Brios project combines natural and local materials such as

bamboo with wood, concrete and steel.
Designed with the help of engineer Vilas Gore of GeoScience Services,
the buildings structural system decreases its load on the bamboo poles.
The outer columns are composed of two bamboo poles connected by steel
strips.
To support the interior, steel dowels are inserted between the columns and
coupled with trusses made of pre-cast concrete and steel tension cables
that span between.
To make the building livable during all seasons, the architects had to
consider the conditions during the sweltering summer as well as the winter
months, when stormy monsoons prevail.
A compromise was found by using an open design that allows winds to
flow through and provides ample shade, but also features interior spaces
that are protected from the elements. T
he buildings narrow shape provides greater access to breezes while a
waterproof interior is assured with wall panels made of split bamboo and
covered with reinforced plaster on the inside.

A simple assortment of materials creates a minimalist aesthetic inside the

structure. Featuring bamboo for columns and walls, and natural and
polished stone for floors, the interior exudes a clean and humble character
that matches the bamboo verticality of the exterior.
Intending to spur eco-friendly changes within the Indian construction
industry, the ambitious Dutch architect Robert Verrijt and Indian architect
Shefali Balwani of Architecture Brio have created an exciting example of
engineering prowess, innovative aesthetic, and altogether- sustainable
design.

The National Mission on Bamboo Applications (NMBA) is a

multi-disciplinary Technology Mission.
It has been tasked with creating the basis for enlarging the
bamboo sector, and with supporting the efforts of the
Government of India towards augmenting economic
opportunity, income and employment.

Kisama heritage village,

Nagaland, India

this Earth Day bamboo architecture

Kisama Heritage village

Building

materials
Planning and layout
Construction process
Details for seismic resistance
References

Bamboo house (Image courtesy of I

PIRTI - Bangalore, India)

1. Introduction

The construction materials for building a bamboo house should be readily available and
accessible.
Traditionally used construction materials are considered.
The bamboo based house has a very low weight therefore foundations can be minimised.
For wall construction are used wall panels, assembled from split bamboo grids and chicken steel
mesh and plastered with cement mortar
. Basic materials for house components (bamboo, wire, bolts, chicken mesh, and cement) are
inexpensive.
Bamboo can tolerate high values of deformations in the elastic range i.e. possesses high
elasticity.
Therefore bamboo houses when properly constructed are ductile i.e. being able to sway back and
forth during an earthquake, without any damage to the bamboo poles. Bamboo is available in
commercial quantities using the established supply system.
It is a renewable plant with a short rotation period. Bamboo grows to its full size for about a
year.
Another two or three years are required for the plant to gain its high strength.
Bamboo can be grown even on degraded land.
Construction materials from bamboo should be treated in order to achieve longevity.
The use of high energy materials, like cement or steel, is minimized.
Therefore the adoption of bamboo for house construction helps preserve the environment

Building materials

Bamboo

harvesting

Bamboo should be harvested during the dry season in the tropics.

This reduces beetle attacks, since insects are less active during dry season.
Bamboo should be harvested in autumn and winter in subtropical areas.
The branches should be carefully removed from the bamboo culms so that the
outer skin is not damaged.
After harvesting the canes can be stored vertically or horizontally.
In the latter case the canes should be frequently supported in order to avoid
bending out of shape.
Canes should be protected from direct sun, soil moisture and rain.
There are two ways for drying the bamboo canes.
The bamboo poles can be dried for about 6-12 weeks, by allowing good aircirculation while being stored under a shed.
Faster alternative is using kilns for drying the canes.
In this way the bamboo canes can be dried for 2- 3 weeks.
Workability of the canes is ideal when they are dry.

The aim of bamboo poles preservation is to prevent the invasion of pests, insects and fungus.
If left untreated, bamboo poles may not survive more than about two years.
We recommend the following methods for treating bamboo poles:

Immersion

Freshly cut bamboo poles are immersed in water for period of 4-12 weeks.
During this time the nourishment for insects inside the poles is removed. S
treams or ponds are suitable.
Ponds should allow circulation of water.
Immersion in saltwater is not a suitable technique.

Impregnating

coatings

Preservation with borate solution is an efficient technique.

The method involves the borate/borax salt solution being pressure-fed in the pole until it is
seen at the other end of the pole.
The culms treated in this technique should be of mature age.
The treatment procedure should be applied on the day of harvesting the bamboo.
This is a severe requirement.
Information on this method is available through INBAR bamboo research network in India.

Bamboo preservation

Heating

This method consists of heating the canes, for a short time in kilns to
150oC. Alternatively the canes can be placed into a large container and
boiled (cooked) for 25 minutes. In Japan a method of boiling the bamboo
in caustic ash solution has been used.
Checklist for obtaining construction quality bamboo
poles
1. Depending on the species, 3 to 5 year old bamboo is best for construction
purposes
2. The bamboo should be harvested in dry season in order to avoid fungus
attack and excess pole moisture
3. Use the appropriate species for the particular application
4. Do not expose the bamboo poles to direct sun, moisture and rain
5. Use only straight portions from the bamboo culms for construction poles
6. Poles should be treated against insects and fingus

Introduction

1.
2.

3.

4.
5.

This portion of the document deals with newly developed earthquake resistant type of
bamboo house.
The planning and layout of structural members are displayed at the various construction
stages.
Proposed type of bamboo house Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute
(IPIRTI) - Bangalore, India has constructed earthquake resistant prototype bamboo houses
with the following main features:
Use whole round bamboo columns and trussed rafters approximately every 1.2m as the
main load bearing elements
Use split bamboo grids and chicken steel mesh with cement mortar plaster to provide
overall stability to the structure. These elements form infill panels that are about 5 cm
thick.
Application of preservative treatment of bamboo depending on the degree of hazard and
service conditions. Apply BORON to treat bamboo grids and trusses and Creosote oil to
treat columns
Use of bamboo mat board (BMB) gussests in combination with mild steel bolts for load
bearing joints in roofing structure
Use of bamboo mat corrugated sheets (BMCS) as roof cladding and BMB for the walls,
doors and window shutters

Planning and layout


1.
2.
3.
4.

Assets of the above system can be listed as follows:

Modular construction suits either prefabrication or assembling in-situ. Components can be
prefabricated. For example roof trusses, bamboo grids for walls, window/door frames
Light structure
Lateral shear resistance is provided from bamboo poles restrained at plinth level and roof
level as well as the infill walls
The planning of the proposed housing as well as the layout of structural members are
presented below. Follow the sequence of images to view the construction process in
progression

Proposed
bamboo house
- phase 1

Figure 3- Proposed bamboo house - phase 2

proposed bamboo house - phase 3

Proposed bamboo house - phase 4

Proposed bamboo house - phase 5

The bamboo shoots growing in Yunnan

Picture pages Bangladesh

BAMBOO AND CLAY HOUSE,

SATKAMAL.

Kitchen of bamboo house,

Raicha.

Brick Path Through Village, Raicha.

Bamboo Construction Technology for Housing in Bangladesh

Celina Llerena, Brazil: Model house at EBIOBAMBU

experimental facility, Rio de Janeiro State

Will Pierson, Daniel Cheyne, KOOLBAMBOO, USA:

Sun roof at botanical garden, Miami

China: Restaurant entrance

Bobby Manosa, Philippines:

Expo garden, Dumaguete area

Daniel Cheyne, KOOLBAMBOO, Colombia:

Two storey low cost housing

Colombia: Bus stop, Armenia

China: Glued bamboo sections

Honeycombed wall elements

Simon Hossie, Colombia: Toll gate, Circaria

Polystyrene + bamboo sandwich concept

intended for prefab construction

Brazil: Prefab wall elements of concrete, fibers and bamboo

at SEBRAEs plant, Trs Rios

The Architecture of Simon Velez 1

Simon Velez,
Architect, CRA 2#9-54, Bogota Colombia