Bamboo as a modern construction material in South East Asia

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BAMBOO AS A MODERN CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL IN SOUTEAST ASIA Evelien Florijn – A0145263J Assignment 2, semester 1 2015 – 2016 Advanced Architectural Technology – AR5321 National University of Singapore, Department of Architecture

This essay will explore the potential of bamboo as a modern construction material within Southeast Asia. First, the physical qualities of bamboo will be explored. Thereafter, the limitations of the construction material will be discussed and certain design solutions will be proposed. The third and final part discusses the future possibilities and limitations that have yet to be overcome.

developing countries for simple constructions for housing but also as a material for farms, school buildings and bridges, scaffolding, water piping, shuttering and reinforcement for concrete (Sharma, 250).

FIGURE 1. NATIVE BAMBOO DISTRIBUTION (EL BASSAM, N. 1996)

FIGURE 2. ANATOMY OF A BAMBOO CULM (BAMBOO BOTANICALS 2015)

Bamboo is a type of grass, and commonly known because of its rapid growth that can reach up to 25 cm a day (Escamilla 2014, 118). Naturally, bamboo can be found in countries around the equator (see Figure 1). Its main qualities are that it is light, strong and versatile, environmentally friendly, accessible to the poor, a self-renewing resource, fast growing and highly productive (Sharma 2014, 253). Currently bamboo is mostly used in

Most bamboo species are hollow. Within this hollow inner area there are some horizontal partitions called diaphragms, which are denoted by ring around the culm on the outside. Together, the diaphragm and ring form a node, with the space in between called an internode (see Figure 2) (Janssen 2000, 10). The different species of bamboo can be categorized into two main categories: running bamboo and clumping bamboo

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