Table of Contents 1. Abstract.................................................................................................................................. 4 2. Issues and Problems.............................................................................................................. 5 3. Bamboo ................................................................................................................................. 9 3.1. Overview ......................................................................................................................... 9 3.2. Why Bamboo? ................................................................................................................10 3.3. Bamboo in Malaysia .......................................................................................................11 3.3.1. Genera and Species ................................................................................................12 3.4. Harvesting and Treatment Process.................................................................................15 3.5. Construction Technique ..................................................................................................17 3.5.1. Overview ..................................................................................................................17 3.5.2. Bamboo Joinery Techniques ....................................................................................18 3.6. Case Studies on Innovative Bamboo Solution ................................................................24 3.6.1. Bali Green School - engagement with community ....................................................24 3.6.2. Vo Trong Nghia Architect - weaving joints ................................................................26 3.6.3. Penda’s bamboo city - Envisioning bamboo in high density urban context ...............28 3.7. Bamboo Craft Industry in Johor Bahru ............................................................................30 3.8. Biomass Energy - closing the cycle of bamboo production .............................................33 3.8.1. Preliminary calculation .............................................................................................34 4. Site Selection ........................................................................................................................35 4.1. Option 1: Pantai Lido ......................................................................................................35 4.2. Option 2: Johor Bahru City Centre along Jalan Trus .......................................................37 5. Project Brief ..........................................................................................................................39 6. Feasibility Study ....................................................................................................................42 6.1. Process 1 .......................................................................................................................42 6.2. Process 2 .......................................................................................................................43 6.3. Process 3 .......................................................................................................................44 6.4. Process 4 .......................................................................................................................45 6.5. Process 5 .......................................................................................................................46 7. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................49 References ...............................................................................................................................51 Appendix ...................................................................................................................................54
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List of Figures Figure 1 Temperature changes from 1990 - 2017 (NASA) ......................................................... 6 Figure 2 Climate change impacts on earth (IPCC 2014) ............................................................ 7 Figure 3 Global increment in temperature (IPCC 2014).............................................................. 7 Figure 4 Bamboo Forest (Muralunique n.d.) ............................................................................... 9 Figure 5 Traditional Dayak-Kadazan Bamboo House (Chua 2012) ...........................................11 Figure 6 Bamboo plantation distribution in Malaysia (Azmi and Appanah n.d.) .........................12 Figure 7 Most planted bamboo species in Malaysia, include Semantan (Gigantochloa Scortechninii), Semeliang (Schizostachyum Grande) and Dinding (Schizostachyum zollingeri). (FDPM n.d.) ..............................................................................................................................13 Figure 8 Schizostachyum Grande. (FDPM n.d.) ........................................................................14 Figure 9 Gigantochloa Scortechinii. (FDPM n.d.) ......................................................................14 Figure 10 Harvest .....................................................................................................................15 Figure 11 Delivery to site ..........................................................................................................15 Figure 12 Trimming to required sizes ........................................................................................15 Figure 13 Washing with high pressured water ...........................................................................16 Figure 14 Treating with boric acid solution ................................................................................16 Figure 15 Drying for 1-2 weeks .................................................................................................16 Figure 16 Common bamboo cuts when making bamboo joints .................................................17 Figure 17 Simple joint with hand saw ........................................................................................17 Figure 18 Joining horizontal with vertical elements ...................................................................19 Figure 19 Use of dowels and anchors in bamboo joinery ..........................................................19 Figure 20 Double and quadruple bamboo rafter support ...........................................................20 Figure 21 Joining and fixation of bamboo poles ........................................................................21 Figure 22 Filling internode space allows bolt and nut joinery system for bamboo ......................22 Figure 23 Intersection of multiple bamboo structural elements at one point is made possible. ..22 Figure 24 Bali Green School (Archdaily 2010)...........................................................................24 Figure 25 Engaging local craftsman in construction (Shim 2010) ..............................................24 Figure 26 Vietnam Pavilion Expo 2010 (Vo Trong Nghia Architects 2010) ................................26 Figure 27 Bundled bamboo structure (Vo Trong Nghia Architects 2010) ...................................26 Figure 28 Ongoing vietnamese events (Vo Trong Nghia Architects 2010).................................27 Figure 29 Penda’s bamboo vision (Frearson 2015) ...................................................................28 Figure 30 Interlocking modular joint (Frearson 2015) ...............................................................28 Figure 31 Relocation of villagers due to development (Khalil, Johar and Sabri 2015) ...............30 Figure 32 The Changes in Main Occupation of the Household (Khalil, Johar and Sabri 2015) ..31 Figure 33 Factory model for rattan furniture (Tarmeze, Husain, and Hamid n.d.) ......................32 Figure 34 Micro Bio Fuel cell (Azizul, Omine, Yasufuku, Quazi, Hyodo, and Nakata 2014) .......33 Figure 35 Danga Bay on map (Google 2018) ...........................................................................35 Figure 36 Pantai Lido (Sultan, Zainu, and Tahira 2016) ............................................................35 Figure 37 Tropez Residence at Danga Bay (Sultan, Zainu, and Tahira 2016) ...........................36 Figure 38 Johor Bahru city centre map (Openstreetmap n.d.) ...................................................37 Figure 39 Divide and Rule .........................................................................................................37 Figure 40 Segregated society ...................................................................................................38 2
Figure 41 modular exploration...................................................................................................42 Figure 42 spatial exploration .....................................................................................................42 Figure 43 Singapore Bamboo Skyscraper Competition First Prize (McManus 2013) .................43 Figure 44 Exploration on bamboo structure...............................................................................43 Figure 45 Designing for replacement ........................................................................................44 Figure 46 Detailing modular cell unit .........................................................................................45 Figure 47 Axonometric drawing .................................................................................................46 Figure 48 Bamboo production cycle ..........................................................................................47 Figure 49 View from Jalan Trus ................................................................................................48
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1. Abstract
Current construction industry is dominated by cement, steel and glass, which are primary producers of greenhouse gases. Production of these materials requires large amount of fossil fuel-based energy; hence, releasing a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. This issue is concerning because anymore increase in temperature would cause extreme weather events to occur, which will eventually makes the earth no longer suitable for living. In fact, building industry accounts for one third of the total Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, so there is an urgent need to search for an alternative material that has the potential to replace concrete and steel.
Bamboo is identified to possess the ability to provide for a greener future. It is a highly renewable material quoted as the 21st century ‘green steel’ by a Vietnamese architect Vo Trong Nghia (Clarissa 2016). However, the scepticism on bamboo durability and the lack of technology for bamboo production are the factors holding back the society in large scale usage of bamboo construction. Hence, this paper is intended to investigate the viability of bamboo material in construction sector. It will further discusses preliminary designs to explore on the usage of bamboo as sustainable material for the future.
Keywords: global warming, sustainability, bamboo, construction
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2. Issues and Problems Sustainability is ‘the ability to continue a defined behavior indefinitely’; while to define ‘environmental sustainability’, Herman Daly (1990) proposed three main pointers:
1. Renewable resources - sustainable yield Harvesting rate should not exceed regeneration rate
2. Pollution - sustainable waste disposal Waste generation rate should not exceed the environmental assimilative capacity
3. Non-renewable resources - replacement of non-renewable sources Depletion of non-renewable resources should be compensated with renewable sources
However, current construction industry is dominated by cement, steel and glass, which the nonrenewable resources are not in line with the global effort towards sustainable development (Mardiana and Riffat 2015). According to the 4th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), building-related greenhouse gas is expected to rise from 8.6 billion metric tons t CO2e in 2004, to 15.6 billion t CO2e in 2030, with growth of 26%. Besides, carbon dioxide emission from buildings account for 30-40 % of the total greenhouse gas emissions (IPCC 2007). Moreover, building sector contributes as much as one third of the global greenhouse gas emission as result of fossil fuels-based production (Mardiana and Riffat 2015); hence, environmental issues need to be tackled from the aspect of construction sector in order to achieve a significant impact.
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What does increase in carbon emission mean?
Questions doubting the effort on reducing carbon content in the atmosphere might arise, whether it really worth at the expense of economic growth. Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement is the manifestation of the indifference attitude towards carbon emission and being ignorant of the responsibility of his role as a temporary resident on earth.
Figure 1 Temperature changes from 1990 - 2017 (NASA)
The devastating impact of increment in atmospheric carbon content is due to its nature as a contributor to global warming. With reference to figure 1, global temperature has increased 4 degree Celsius in 30 years. This is concerning because any increase in global temperature would raise the risk of various environmental issues illustrated in figure 2, such as extreme weather events and threatened ecosystems.
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Figure 2 Climate change impacts on earth (IPCC 2014)
Figure 3 Global increment in temperature (IPCC 2014)
With reference to IPCC fifth Assessment Report (2014) on global temperature increment, following the current carbon emission rate, the global temperature is pacing towards 5 degree Celsius increment in 100 years. The earth will reach a state when it is no longer safe for occupation, and thus, the extinction of human being on earth is just a matter of time.
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Hence, ‘Sustainability’ should no longer be a gimmick to promote property sale, but to be seriously dealt with. The current mode of material production for concrete and steel which relies heavily on fossil fuels combustion is bridging the way to the earth’s destruction; hence, there is a pressing need to call for an alternative building material that could pave the way towards realization of sustainable development.
In this thesis project, bamboo is proposed to be the game changer; as a potential alternative material to replacing concrete and steel in construction industry. This will be elaborated in the following sections.
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3. Bamboo 3.1. Overview
Figure 4 Bamboo Forest (Muralunique n.d.)
Bamboo has always been regarded as symbol of strength, grace and endurance. The enigmatic beauty of bamboo forest is frequently portrayed in paintings or jade carvings. As the ancient Chinese literary saying goes,
风来笑有声，雨过净如洗。有时明月来，弄影高窗里。
《咏竹》纪琼
‘With storm, bamboo bends; when storm ceases, it stands’, bamboo is the symbol of harmony between nature and living beings on earth (IBUKU n.d.).
According to the research by Andam (1995), bamboo is discovered to have comparable tensile strength as steel and compression strength as concrete, not to mention its environmentally friendly quality and being a locally accessible material in Malaysia. Before the days of man on earth, bamboo already existed as natural raw materials; it is a wonder why human being divert their attention away, and proceed with exploration on steel and concrete.
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3.2. Why Bamboo?
Bamboo is known for its unbelievable growing rate as it could grow up to 1.25 meter height in just 24 hours. Furthermore, It only takes 3-5 years for bamboo to reach its mature state to be harvested while a fir tree requires 12 to 15 years to be gathered.
A major side effects with constructing wood building is deforestation, which requires tedious and costly replanting work. However, chopping bamboo pole off its main culm does not kill the plant, but instead the remaining bamboo regenerates with even denser fiber (Chua 2012).
Zero Emission Research Institute (ZERI) has published a study report on bamboo, which uncovers that bamboo not only absorbs 4 times more carbon dioxide than usual plants, but also produces 35 percent more oxygen. The dense distribution of bamboo in a forest makes it sequester 17 times more carbon than a typical tree forest.
With the above mentioned figures, bamboo is believed to be the solution to sustainability issues prevailing today, particularly the excessive carbon amount in the atmosphere. While construction industry contributes one third of the carbon gases, usage of bamboo in construction sector is able to make significant changes to the environment.
Hence, this thesis project aims to use bamboo to envision an environmentally sustainable future for tropical cities.
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3.3. Bamboo in Malaysia
Figure 5 Traditional Dayak-Kadazan Bamboo House (Chua 2012)
Bamboo is deeply rooted in Malaysia and is never foreign to the locals. In the past, the people built houses using locally available materials in tropical forest, namely timber, rattan, bamboo and leaves. Besides, there are also various ways in which bamboo is used traditionally in villages ranging from fencing, laundry-drying bars, musical instructions to woven walls and ceiling panels. However, due to the lack of interest in this so called ‘poor man’s timber’, it was left unexplored until the recent revival of bamboo architecture.
Bamboo is widely distributed in Malaysia. Most of the Malaysian bamboos grow in clumps, on river banks, lowland forests as well as hillsides and ridge tops (Azmi and Appanah n.d.)
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Figure 6 Bamboo plantation distribution in Malaysia (Azmi and Appanah n.d.)
3.3.1. Genera and Species
Malaysia has around 70 species of bamboo, with 50 of them in Peninsular Malaysia. The 10 main genera are Bambusa, Chusquea, Dendrocalamus, Dinochloa, Gigantochloa, Phyllostachys, Racemobambos, Schizostachyum, Thyrsostachys and Yushania (Wong 1989). The most commonly planted species are Gigantochloa scortechinii, G. levis, G. ligulata, Dendrocalamus asper, Bambusa blumeana, Schizostachyum grande and S. zollingeri.
Valuable species in Malaysia suitable for construction include Gigantochloa Scortechinii, Dendrocalamus asper and Dendrocalamus pendulus. Dendrocalamus asper has been replaced by Gigantochloa Scortechninii, as the most popular bamboo species for construction-related usages in Malaysia.
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Figure 7 Most planted bamboo species in Malaysia, include Semantan (Gigantochloa Scortechninii), Semeliang (Schizostachyum Grande) and Dinding (Schizostachyum zollingeri). (FDPM n.d.)
Some of the most planted bamboo species in Malaysia is illustrated in the table above, include Semantan (Gigantochloa Scortechninii), Semeliang (Schizostachyum Grande) and Dinding (Schizostachyum zollingeri).
Figure 7. Schizostachyum Zollingeri. (FDPM n.d.)
Schizostachyum Zollingeri ●
Growth altitude from 50-200m, which can be easily found at Johor Bahru
●
Can be used for construction (non load bearing)
●
Diameter 5-7mm, lightweight, differentiated from main structural bamboo
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Figure 8 Schizostachyum Grande. (FDPM n.d.)
Schizostachyum Grande ●
requires high altitude for growing (400m)
●
Diameter 8-11mm, yet not suitable for construction
Figure 9 Gigantochloa Scortechinii. (FDPM n.d.)
Gigantochloa Scortechinii ●
requires high altitude for growing (400-800m)
●
Grows up to height of 20m
●
Diameter 9-11mm, can be used for load bearing element in construction
In this thesis project, plantation site will be proposed at Johor Bahru, promoting production of Gigantochloa Scortechinii bamboo species, which is most suitable for construction among the indigenous species. 14
3.4. Harvesting and Treatment Process
To obtain ideal bamboo products, the proper post-harvesting process must be followed strictly to prolong durability, which involves treating and drying processes as illustrated below.
Step 1
Figure 10 Harvest
Step 2
Figure 11 Delivery to site
Step 3
Figure 12 Trimming to required sizes
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Step 4
Figure 13 Washing with high pressured water
Step 5
Figure 14 Treating with boric acid solution
Step 6
Figure 15 Drying for 1-2 weeks
Information extracted from “When and How to Harvest Bamboo” by Schröder, S. 2012
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3.5. Construction Technique 3.5.1. Overview One of the reasons for the little usage of bamboo in construction lies with the complexity of joinery and the variation in sizes of different bamboo which make bamboo difficult to work with. This section documents the variety of joinery systems of bamboo to facilitate understanding on bamboo joinery systems. Information for this section was obtained from Schröder’s (2012) “Bamboo Joints and Joinery Techniques”.
Bamboo Cuts
Figure 16 Common bamboo cuts when making bamboo joints
Figure 17 Simple joint with hand saw
Trimming bamboo can be done with simple tools such as hand saw. Hence, bamboo construction opens up possibility to engage local craftsman in the making process.
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3.5.2. Bamboo Joinery Techniques
As mentioned by Schrรถder (2012), making good and aesthetically pleasing bamboo architecture is complicated because bamboo is hollow, tapered, and with fluctuation in sizes and distances between nodes. Brilliant ideas have been developed by skilled craftsman in working with bamboo joint, however, they are far from getting widely adopted in modern architecture where universal joining systems has to be solved.
If problems with bamboo joinery can be addressed and simplified, we could foresee broader usage of bamboo in construction sector. Multiple traditional joinery systems are illustrated in this section, as a reference to develop greater joinery system.
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3.5.2.1. Traditional Joinery Systems
Figure 18 Joining horizontal with vertical elements
Figure 19 Use of dowels and anchors in bamboo joinery
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Figure 20 Double and quadruple bamboo rafter support
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Figure 21 Joining and fixation of bamboo poles
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3.5.2.2. Modern Joinery Systems
Modern joinery system of bamboo involving hybrid of steel and concrete as a method to design for tolerance of fluctuations in bamboo sizes. Information here is extracted from X-Bamboo Design Project (2015).
Figure 22 Filling internode space allows bolt and nut joinery system for bamboo
Figure 23 Intersection of multiple bamboo structural elements at one point is made possible.
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However, there is a question of whether the above steel /concrete and bamboo hybrid is appropriate as it loses the tectonics or aesthetics of a bamboo joinery. Bamboo elements gain strength when they are interwoven, which exudes an ineffable quality that only bamboo material possesses; hence, the weaving joinery system should be further explored.
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3.6. Case Studies on Innovative Bamboo Solution 3.6.1. Bali Green School - engagement with community
Figure 24 Bali Green School (Archdaily 2010)
Environmentalists and designers John and Cynthia Hardy had a vision for sustainable living, and hence embarked on the journey of building with bamboo to show the world how natural material such as bamboo can be the future (Shim 2010).
The architects have revolutionised the contemporary construction method by engaging the local skilled craftsman into the making process. Bamboo is not just used for the building but as scaffolding for construction. In this way, cranes or heavy equipment is not required which minimizes the disturbance on site.
Figure 25 Engaging local craftsman in construction (Shim 2010)
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Building bamboo architecture makes traditional craftsmanship stays relevant in modern context while the replacement of reed thatch roof and other weaving furniture requires the crafting skills of these craftsman and artisan. This is an extraordinary project which demonstrates the ability of architecture to bridge modern construction development with local craft-based economies.
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3.6.2. Vo Trong Nghia Architect - weaving joints
Figure 26 Vietnam Pavilion Expo 2010 (Vo Trong Nghia Architects 2010)
Vietnam Pavilion was designed to transform an ordinary warehouse into a pavilion with exciting spaces to house Vietnamese cultural events with wavy arch-shaped bamboo forming the interior spaces inspired by the bamboo forest.
Figure 27 Bundled bamboo structure (Vo Trong Nghia Architects 2010)
Constructing the bamboo structure involves bundling smaller bamboo poles to gain strength as well as easing bending process.
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Figure 28 Ongoing vietnamese events (Vo Trong Nghia Architects 2010)
The resultant spatial quality reflects the essence of bamboo architecture, which is about weaving the structures. Concrete characterized by solemnity, steel evokes industrial aesthetics; while for bamboo, it is believed the interwoven aesthetics belongs to this natural materials which no other materials could imitate.
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3.6.3. Penda’s bamboo city - Envisioning bamboo in high density urban context
Figure 29 Penda’s bamboo vision (Frearson 2015)
Penda, a Beijing based design studio has proposed a multi-storey structures built from interlocking horizontal and vertical bamboo poles for the entire city.
Figure 30 Interlocking modular joint (Frearson 2015)
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Similar to VTN architects, Penda explores interweaving structure of bamboo in a different way. The main advantage of the system is its flexibility to allow addition of multiple modules to form larger structures. As compared to Vietnam Pavilion Expo, this system minimizes wastage on material and easier to be constructed.
However, its strong triangular language does not speak for bamboo which the organic nature should be expressed, as in the works by Elora Hardy and Vo Trong Nghia.
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3.7. Bamboo Craft Industry in Johor Bahru
Bamboo craft is an art that requires weaving skills possessed by the skilled craftsmen. However, the aesthetics of weaving crafts has lost its popularity as people prefer modern products over the traditional handcrafted works. By promoting bamboo usage in buildings, bamboo craft is envisioned to regain its overdue popularity.
Job Opportunities Besides, revival of bamboo craft is able to provide job opportunities to the middle to lower income group family in Johor Bahru city. As stated in the article of Khalil, Johar and Sabri (2015), Johor Bahru has experienced major development which has caused relocation or evacuation of locals in areas such as Nusajaya to give way to country’s development.
Figure 31 Relocation of villagers due to development (Khalil, Johar and Sabri 2015)
With reference to figure 31, observation can be made such that traditional villages such as Tiram Duku has been relocated to new village called Taman Perintis I; while some other to even the periphery of the metropolitan region as a clear action of marginalizing these lower-income groups. Moreover, development in Nusajaya has significantly affected the livelihood of the aboriginal
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communities at Kampung Simpang Arang as the construction of bridge near Simpang Arang has reduced the fisherman’s catch.
Similar events have occurred at Danga Bay area, where the aboriginal groups are so affected that they have lost their economic source.
Figure 32 The Changes in Main Occupation of the Household (Khalil, Johar and Sabri 2015)
The depreciating income of the villagers caused them to resort to other jobs; however, with low literacy and educational qualification of the villagers, it is difficult for them to land a job in modern industrial sector. As result, the percentage of “no permanent work� has increased significantly for Head of House, from 5.5 percent in 2005, to 23 percent in 2010 (Figure 32). This is a concerning phenomenon as the figure actually means more villagers have to depend on ad hoc part-time job opportunities to sustain their family.
Hence, the proposed bamboo craft market could generate job opportunities for the villagers. Besides engaging skilled craftsman, the villagers can be employed and provided with training on weaving skills, and thus able to generate income by selling bamboo crafts. The operation in the 31
craft market includes the following programs, taking reference from a typical rattan furniture production process (Figure 33).
Bamboo Craft Market ● Craft market ● Private workshop (supporting products at craft market and parts for bamboo residents) ● Training centre (equipping fresh craftsmen with weaving skills) ● Public learning workshop (outreach to public promoting appreciation of bamboo crafts) ● Design studios (open studios with minimal equipment) ● Exhibition (showcase bamboo crafts) ● Bamboo residence (tourist or in-residence artist, e.g. invited craftsman from japan)
Figure 33 Factory model for rattan furniture (Tarmeze, Husain, and Hamid n.d.)
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3.8. Biomass Energy - closing the cycle of bamboo production
Bamboo is a natural material which can serves as biomass energy. In fact, in a typical bamboo production process, only 60% will be utilized fully for the products, while the remaining 40% are disposed as waste materials (Chen, Zheng and Huang 2011).
Waste management is an important topic in both developing and developed countries, however, it is often neglected even in developed country such as Japan with annual generation of kitchen waste up to 20 million tons per year, which is a valuable bio-resource but incinerated together with other wastes.
As stated in the article of Azizul, Omine, Yasufuku, Quazi, Hyodo, and Nakata (2014), producing bamboo-based biomass energy with microbial fuel cell generator is an ideal way of managing waste resources as it does not produce harmful by-products.
Figure 34 Micro Bio Fuel cell (Azizul, Omine, Yasufuku, Quazi, Hyodo, and Nakata 2014)
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3.8.1. Preliminary calculation
A preliminary calculation is done to study the feasibility of biomass energy, Assuming 2 hectare of plantation area will be used for the proposed crafts market, meaning 44,000 kg of bamboo is dedicated to the proposed project.
Among 44,000 kg of bamboo, 40% will be waste material for generating electricity =17,600 kg = 17,600kwh of energy annually
Assuming 300 light bulbs in crafts market, you need 300 x 0.06 kwh for an hour lighting, = 18 kwh needed for an hour lighting at crafts market.
17,600kwh/ 18kwh =977 hours of lighting can be provided annually. 2.7 hours of lighting can be provided daily, with 2 hectare of bamboo plantation servicing one craft market.
2.7 hours of lighting is a significant figure which helps to close up the bamboo production cycle, with waste generated from the crafts industry converted into electricity and feed back to the building system.
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4. Site Selection 4.1. Option 1: Pantai Lido Initially, the site I had in mind that aligns to the research question is Danga Bay at Johor Bahru, which was once known as Pantai Lido. The 3 km stretch of beach lined with rich mangroves at the waterfront was once a tourist attraction, connecting Danga Bay to City Centre, as well as the perfect place for enjoying the breeze and scenery of the water. Moreover, during festive seasons, Pantai Lido would turn into a vibrant free market space with local delicacies featured. The adaptability shown by this public space made the waterfront a public living room with vibrant activities and rich local culture.
Figure 35 Danga Bay on map (Google 2018)
Figure 36 Pantai Lido (Sultan, Zainu, and Tahira 2016)
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However, in 1997, the beach’s features and mangroves were totally demolished to give way to Danga Bay development, featuring mixed use development and urban facilities, targeting at the higher income group. The situation got worsened when developers such as country garden was brought in to build mega residential projects which only benefits the rich. Using Tropez Residence (one of the developments located at Danga Bay) as example, a single unit ranges from RM630,000 to RM1.5 million, which is intimidating to the local with only median household income of RM 4585.
Figure 37 Tropez Residence at Danga Bay (Sultan, Zainu, and Tahira 2016)
Pantai Lido, the natural mangroves site as well as bird habitat, was once the leisure public space for the local, but has already been replaced by mega gated projects targeting at the rich. This aligns with the research question, where economic-oriented project has interfered with the local community and ecological system; hence, it is prompting for a solution that is not just about sustainability, but also culture and community.
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4.2. Option 2: Johor Bahru City Centre along Jalan Trus
The second site I have in mind is Johor Bahru City Centre, which is a literal portrayal of the multicultural society in Malaysia.
Figure 38 Johor Bahru city centre map (Openstreetmap n.d.)
Johor Bahru city has an interesting history. In the past, Malaysia had been defined as ‘plural societies’ - due to the British ‘divide and rule’ policy, where people are segregated based on their racial communities. Therefore, in the colonial era from early 19th century to 1965, Malay practiced agriculture, Chinese engaged in commerce, while Indians worked in rubber plantations.
Figure 39 Divide and Rule
Immigration encouraged by Johor Sultan has first allocated Segget River and Wong Ah Fook road to Chinese, Indian and Arabic communities.
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However, post-independence, the economic policy encouraged the Malay communities into the urban area, replaced the Arab community, which have then led the way to the situation we are having now at the city center:
Figure 40 Segregated society
â—?
The Chinese-style shophouses dominate Tan Hiok Nee street, which is where Chinese communities gather.
â—?
Shopping mall with business caters more towards Malay society is crowded with Malay Communities
â—?
Indian communities can be found around Sri Raja Mariamman Hindu temple and the Sikh temple, Gurdwara Sahib.
As result, the site reflects rich local colours, portrayed by Chinese shophouses, Indian temples and Malay bazaar. Proposing Bamboo Craft Market here could add value to the cultural site as bamboo craft is the traditional culture of southeast Asia cities.
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5. Project Brief
Current construction industry is dominated by cement, steel and glass, which are primary producers of greenhouse gases. Production of these materials requires large amount of fossil fuel-based energy; hence, releasing a lot of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, contributing to global warming. This issue is concerning because anymore increase in temperature would cause extreme weather events to occur, which will eventually makes the earth no longer suitable for living. In fact, building industry accounts for one third of the total Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, so there is an urgent need to search for alternative materials that has the potential to replace concrete and steel.
Upon realizing the issue, designers such as Elora John, founder of IBUKU design firm has worked with bamboo, which grows abundantly in Asia, to envision a sustainable future for the tropical cities. She has engaged the local skilled craftsman in Indonesia to build their own house and school.
Hugely inspired by the architect, this project is intended to establish the relationship between local craftsman in Johor Bahru with the architecture, by introducing a bamboo craft market in the City Center. Johor Bahru City Centre has rich local colours portrayed by chinese shophouses, indian temples and Malay bazaar. Hence, proposing Bamboo Craft Market adds value to the cultural site to heighten the status of bamboo craft as the Southeast Asia culture.
Moreover, the proposed crafts market is able to generate job opportunities for the local weavers as well as the unemployed aboriginal groups due to city development; hence, promoting the middle to lower income group economies in the city.
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1st vision - ‘Establishing crafts-architecture relationship’ The first vision for the thesis project is as mentioned above, ‘Establishing crafts-architecture relationship’; that aims to provide job opportunities as well as retaining traditional bamboo craft, with workflow illustrated in the following points:
1. Bamboo plantation proposal in Gunung Pulai 2. Engaging skilled and unskilled workers into building the bamboo architecture 3. Craft market as platform for bamboo crafts business, with programs as follow: ●
Craft market
●
Private workshop (supporting products at craft market and parts for bamboo residents)
●
Training centre (equipping fresh craftsmen with weaving skills)
●
Public learning workshop (outreach to public promoting appreciation of bamboo crafts)
●
Design studios (open studios with minimal equipment)
●
Exhibition (showcase bamboo crafts)
●
Bamboo residence (tourist or in-residence artist, e.g. invited craftsman from japan)
4. When replacement of parts is needed, orders can be sent to craftsmarket for repair 5. Waste generated from crafts making and bamboo harvesting is converted into bioenergy to produce electricity to provide lighting for craftsmarket
2nd vision - ‘innovating concrete-bamboo hybrid structure” For bamboo to be significant in alleviating sustainability issue, it needs to be built on large-scale and high density, which bamboo at the moment is capable of serving more than 3 storeys of load. Hence, this project is intended to explore combination of concrete and bamboo to build a 5-6 storeys building; using concrete to withstand the vertical load, with bamboo only taking one-storey load and getting transferred down to the concrete column. The purpose of this experimental work
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is to study bamboo-concrete application in construction, which potentially serve a basis for future usage of bamboo in high rise construction.
3rd vision - ‘defining bamboo language with weaving’ Bamboo is a natural material that is organic in nature. Hence, working with bamboo should explore its organic weaving structures that cannot be replicated using other materials. Reference is made on Vo Trong Nghia bamboo structures which explores the weaving joints. Using similar concepts, the joinery system will be designed in a way that they are interwoven to gain strength besides forming a unique language that only owned by bamboo architecture.
In summary, this project pushes wider usage of bamboo in future construction industry, from studying the harvesting process, to generating local craft economy, designing for replacement, subsequently forms energy and feed back to the building system.
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6. Feasibility Study 6.1. Process 1
Figure 41 modular exploration
First iteration explores how bamboo structure is able to form a modular system, which can later be assembled in multiple configurations to accommodate to variety of programs proposed. The modules are stacked up to form a multi-storey building with hybrid structure of bamboo and concrete.
Figure 42 spatial exploration
Diagrams above illustrates the thoughts on how the bamboo module caters to a range of usages: one module as pavilion; two modules could form a public space in the center exposed to pedestrians at both sides; lastly, when it got stacked up it could form varying spatial experience with different configuration.
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6.2. Process 2
Figure 43 Singapore Bamboo Skyscraper Competition First Prize (McManus 2013)
Second iteration is inspired by a competition entry for visionary bamboo skyscraper project in Singapore. Exploration was then conducted on modular system that can be replicated to form the entire structure.
Figure 44 Exploration on bamboo structure
However, using purely bamboo structure for a high rise typology is not possible with the current technology. This project is not supposed to based on fantastical ideas but a more practical assumption.
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6.3. Process 3
Figure 45 Designing for replacement
Third iteration was an exploration on a crafts marketplace that engages the local craftsman in constructing their own building. Whenever there are worn out parts requiring repair, orders can be sent to the marketplace for replacement by the craftsmen.
On the other hand, bamboo waste generated by the crafts market can be processed using biomass generator to convert it into electricity to provide lighting.
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6.4. Process 4
Figure 46 Detailing modular cell unit
Attempt was made on detailing the residential module to facilitate ease of assembly and disassembly. The idea is similar to a plug-in city concept, where one residential unit can be plugged out and replaced with new modules prefabricated at crafts market.
However, the bamboo structure shares similar quality with conventional concrete housing. Bamboo has an organic nature that should be explored and manifested in spatial quality. Hence, further innovation is needed to rethink how bamboo shapes the spaces.
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6.5. Process 5
Figure 47 Axonometric drawing
Iteration 5 is the scheme presented for Interim Critique 3. This scheme is building on the previous concept of designing for replacement.
Firstly, skilled craftsman and unskilled aboriginal groups will be employed and undergo training in building the crafts market.
Next, with reference to figure 48, when there are any damaged parts, be it ceiling, flooring or door panels that requires repair, the orders can be sent to the craft market for craftsman to replace. Hence, this establishes an interdependent relationship between craftsman and bamboo building - the replacement of bamboo building parts also keeps the bamboo craftsmen’s skills in demand, thus generating the crafts economy.
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Figure 48 Bamboo production cycle
In any production process, that will be waste, to be exact is 40 percent of waste in a bamboo craft industry. Recycling is difficult with steel and concrete material, but not with bamboo. This is because bamboo is a natural material which can be converted by microbial fuel cells to generate biomass energy. Upon preliminary calculation, the waste is able to provide for 2 hours of lighting for the marketplace daily.
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Figure 49 View from Jalan Trus
However, feedbacks received inform that the architecture appears to be a finished work with no rooms left for future addition of bamboo works to fulfill its purpose as an experimental structure. Perhaps, ‘iconicity’ of the project needs to be set aside to explore a temporary form that can be rebuilt over and over again, as a testing ground for promoting bamboo architecture in Johor Bahru.
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7. Conclusion
Critical Examination on Sustainability and Cultural Identity
Sustainability and cultural issues have always been interests of mine as I always question myself how do I, as future architect positions myself in the aspects of nature, culture and economic benefits. Hence, this thesis project is one that is close to my heart.
Today, there is a pressing need for an architectural solution due to critical ecological and cultural issues; development of the cities with revenue as sole agenda has caused irreversible damage to our mother earth as well as the local identity. Although efforts have been made to salvage the loss, but more often than not, “sustainable” is used as a gimmick with hidden agenda. For instance, a recent project in Malaysia, Forest City, has been dubbed as the sustainable city with extensive public transport network as well as usage of renewable resources; however, the project has irresponsible acts that have destroyed the ecosystem of the surrounding waters, covered behind the scenes for greater economic gain. Moreover, the luxurious development targeting at rich buyers does not benefit the local in any way; it just makes the rich richer and dilutes the cultural identity of the place. Ultimately, sustainable architecture built all over the world are just “less-bad” approaches with economic benefits being championed, regardless of the local culture and community.
Hence, this project is an opportunity to have a critical review on the “less-bad” situation. The proposed solution is about using bamboo material to be the ‘game changer’ to redirect city development towards a more sustainable future.
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Various concepts and design solution has been attempted and illustrated in the report, which are the results of rigorous thinking behind the scene, and the effort is still ongoing.
Lastly, I am convinced that bamboo defines the future; and this project is one of the catalysts that leads to that vision shared by many young designers and environmentalists in the world, with every single one of us making seemingly insignificant effort, but indispensable in realizing our shared goal.
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References
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Appendix This section documents the presentation boards and other relevant drawings during the designing process. The list of drawings is as follow: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Interim 2 Presentation Boards Process 2 Drawings Process 3 Drawings Process 4 Drawings Interim 3 Presentation Boards
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Interim 2 Presentation Board
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Process 2 Drawings
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Process 3 Drawings
Process 4 Drawings
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Interim 3 Presentation Board
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