SEMINAR

ON
BAMBOO
 CONTENTS

Classification Uses of bamboo in housing

Introduction - Affordability
Properties - Assembling of bamboo on site
Wood v/s Bamboo Least tech v/s High tec.
Aspect of bamboo connection Works of Architect
Types of connection Uses of bamboo in garden
Joinery details Uses of bamboo in interior
-Plastering Bamboo in furniture
- Roofing Miscellaneous uses of bamboo
- Walls Conclusion
CLASSIFICATION

KINGDOM PLANTAE
DIVISION MAGLIOPHYTA
CLASS LILIOPSIDA
ORDER POALES
FAMILY POACEAE
SUBFAMILY BAMBUSOIDEAE
SUPERTRIBE BAMBUSODAE
TRIBE BAMBUSEAE

DIVERSITY
Around 91 Genera
and 1000 species

Bamboo foliage
Availability of bamboo
 INTRODUCTION
IN INDIA, BAMBOO IS BEEING VIEWED AS THE BUILDING
MATERIAL OF THE POOR, BUT THINGS ARE CHANGING.

PEOPLE ARE BECOMING AWARE OF THE BENEFITS OF

BAMBOO CONSTRUCTION.

IT ALSO FORMS THE HOUSEHOLD ITEMS IN MANY PLACES

AROUND THE WORLD AND ALSO FOOD ITEMS.

IT WAS BEING USED IN EARTHQUAKE PRONE AREAS,BUT

NOW WITH PROPER COMBINATION WITH OTHER
MATERIALS IT IS IMPARTED STRENGTH AND DURABILITY.

CREATIVE USE OF BAMBOO HAS GIVEN SOME STUNNING

RESULTS.
 PROPERTIES
The bamboo is in its size, lightness
and strength an extreme product of
nature. It is stable and because of its
cavities an extreme light and elastic
building material.

There reinforcement by diaphragms

and its physical conditions cause its
enormous superiority compared to other
building materials.
Only in Colombia about 25 different giant bamboos are usedfor
construction. To those belongs also the Guadia Angustifolia It grows in
heights up to 18 meters. Mostly in small forests there exist two subspecies
called Guadua Castilla and Guadua Mecana. It reaches a tallness of about
20-25 metres and a diameterup to 18 cm.
 Bamboo is a group of woody perennial
evergreen plants in the true grass family.
Some of its members are giants, forming
by far the largest members of the grass
family.
New shoots of some of the larger species
can grow over 1 meter per day. They are
of high cultural significance in East Asia
where they are used extensively in
gardens, as a building material as well
as a food source

Bamboo bonsai :- used for

decoration purpose . Bonsai
is a technique in which the
growth of plant is restricted
The behavior of breaking of common building
wood differs clearly from the breaking
conditions of bamboo. Here you don't have a
spontaneous break through the whole material
after the tearing of single bamboo fibers like
wood does. The appearing clefts are led off
immediately in direction of the fiber and so
they impair the critical region less.

The fracture behavior

The distribution of the appearing longitudinal
cracks all over the tube length are stopped by
the enforcing knots (notions). Especially the
pressure, shearing and interlaminar strength
are raised by the knots. Those symptoms are
titled as increasing factor of the fracture
toughness.
The fracture behavior
The work that is needed for the punch of a
bamboo tube is nearly the same whether
the punch hits the knot or the
internodium. But the breaking conditions
itself are totally different. If the punch hits
the knot the tube will burst in axial
stripes; that means a break as a result of
the effort of the strength vertical to the
fibers.

If the punch hits the internodium you will

find the actual break; that means break as
a result of the effort of the tension
strength in direction of the fiber.
The fracture behavior
Bamboo fibers only grow in the
longitudinal direction.
Bamboo is hollow.
There is no material to tighten the
bamboo in the middle of the cane.
The face of the cane is very slippery
and hard.

Bamboo is not suitable for loads in

cross direction because there are no
cross fibers.
Bamboo is a natural material, that
varies in diameters length and
quality according to the climate.
 GROWTH
Bamboo spread mainly through their
roots or rhizomes which can spread
widely underground and send up
new culms to break through the
surface. Some can send out runners
several meters a year, while others can
stay in the same general area for long
periods. If neglected, they can be
invasive over time and can cause
problems by moving into adjacent
areas.
Once established as a grove, it is
difficult to completely remove
bamboo without digging up the entire
network of underground rhizomes. If
any leaves are allowed to
photosynthesize, the bamboo survives
and will keep spreading.
WOOD VERSUS BAMBOO
The lignifying cell construction of the
bamboo texture and its technical
conditions are very similar to the original
texture of wood. Whereas wood has got a
hard centre Hirnholz and becomes
weaker towards the outer parts coniferous wood
Splintholz the bamboo is in its outer fibers
parts hard and in its inner parts weak,
what causes a much more stable
construction.

From the inner parts of the tube towards

the outer parts you can realize a
continious accumulation of the
Leitbündel. The more stable fibre
structures are most dense where you find
bamboo fibers
TYPES OF CONNECTIONS
 Types of connections
Friction-tight rope connections

Friction-tight rope connections are the

common connecting method.

For tight connections green bamboo strips

are used, the fibers are watered before
tying around the bamboo. While drying,
the fibers shorten and the connection
becomes stronger. Nowadays also
industrial materials are used:
- iron wire (zinc coated)
- plastic tapes/ ropes

connection with bamboo strips

 Plug-in/Bolt connection

Constructions with secondary

interlocking elements are often used in
context with rope connections. In this
case the bolts have to transfer tractive and
compressive forces. In wooden
connections this is done by different
kinds of profiles.

The metallnail is a perforating element. If

the bamboo is not fresh at all, the
bamboo is often splitted by the wedge
shaped
nail. There are two exceptional cases: The
Guadua angustifolia and Chusquea
bamboo from central and southern
America. bracket interlocking stud
 Positive Fitting Connections

Wooden connections with slit and tenons,

like they are traditionaly used for
carpenter-like constructions ,are rare.

There are three reasons:

- bamboo is round
- bamboo is hollow
- bamboo splits
But although there are these problems,
positive fitting
connections are used in traditional
bamboo buildings. Different
kinds of holes are cutted into the bamboo
and make it possible
to connect the round bamboo rods. Positive Fitting Connection
Pan - Spatially frame-works –
This frame-work works on bamboo with
diameters small than 80mm. These
threaded bolts can transfer about 50% of
the tractive force. For compressive forces
is a front plat necessary. For overhead
construction this system has to be
examined by an official institute.
Pan-knots for spatially frameworks
Induo – System-
This system makes it possible to
transfer about 100% of the maximum
rated load of large bamboo
diameters.
Other industrial products:
cable tie mount with concrete
reinforcement steel reinforcement-screw
connection with concrete steel

Transportanker - cable tie mount

 Combined Connections
Double post, here with bounded knot
and continuous handle. Within this
construction the tube wall is not
weakened by drillings.
The advantage of this system is,
encumbrances of the roof and
the floor are absorbed by different posts.
Because of this, you can easier do repairs
of defective posts.

Construction with Bamboo – Bamboo

Connections double post

At the Zeri-pavillion at the EXPO 2000

ZERI Pavillon EXPO 2ooo
were used combined connections:
Threaded bolt tightend with mortar – typ
A
Steal mounting link with mortared bolt -
type B
Lashing ties:

The common type of connection

at a joint is lashing. The ties are also of
organic material and therefore provide
optimal compatibility between the
elements of the construction system.
Cords and ropes are made of bamboo
bark,bast, coconut- or sagopalmfibres.

Nowadays also plastic cords are used.

Bamboo ropes of twisted bamboo fibres
are produced in lengths up to 350m. They
are more wear-resistant than standard
ropes.

Binding wire is as plastic cords are) an

industrial product.
Zinc coated wire has the same lifetime as
bamboo. Connection with bamboo strips
 Construction with Bamboo - Bamboo Connections
Plait strips: Usual plait materials are rind
strips of bamboo, rattan or lianas. Soaked
before use they are more pliable. When
drying, the fibres shrink and the
connection tightens

Fine handwork rattan connection

Lashing ties - connection of a purlin and

two braces with three drill-holes.

Purlin and Braces connection

 Rattan tie to fix a plug connection

Friction-tied rattan connection

The end of the beam and the tie do the
power transmission. If the connection is
not tight enough, the beam may crack at
the drill-hole. The additional bandage
prevents the sling from slipping. If
connected at a post nodium, the broader
nodium in addition complicates slipping Another rattan connection
of the beam.
Top of the post with drill-hole. If post
and cross-beam are of the same diameter,
the lashing tie replaces a stop at the side.
A crossing bandage shortens the sling
and prevents the post from sliding.

Variation of the connection above

Bamboo canes connection with lashing

ties and a draw stick - with the help of
the
draw stick the lashing tie is tightened.
Then the stick is fixed to the post.
Traditional scaffolding
 Construction with Bamboo - Bamboo Connections

Lashing tie with drawing stick

Scaffold braces - are bamboo canes which

often are only fixed with the lashing ties. Lashing tie with draw stick
Joint with two connections - Again a
combination of bolts and lashing to
connect the canes.

Complicate joint
Interlocking connection with a wedge.

With the wedge driven into the opening, the

strips of the horizontal beam are pressed into
the hole and fix the beam. If the wedge
shrinks,
the beam can be easily pulled out of the
opening. So additional arrangements like
lashing or bolts are necessary for a save
connection

Interlocking connection with wedge

 Connection with a steel tension clamp
Leaving the low-tech sector, with the use of steel
elements a lot more connections become possible.
Avoid connections which produce great forces
vertical to the cane axis. They can destroy the
bamboo cane.

Connection with steel clamp

 WALLS

Steel dowel
connection to
Concrete footing
column

Grid of bamboo strips fixed to

bamboo column
Completed framework
 Back

PLASTERING

After applying first coat After applying second coat

Plastering on bamboo
Corner detail
 Back

JOINARY

Joinery

Door and window Frames are fixed to

Fitting window frame of
frames are fixed after the grid using nails
plantation timber
first coat of render and wire
ROOFING

Roof framework

Rafter-purlin connection
Roof trusses
 Use of Bamboo in Housing

Bamboo is one of the oldest materials

used for the construction.

It is relatively cheap, easy to work with

and readily available

Traditional bamboo houses of the low-

income group use bamboo for
supporting the structure.

Low cost bamboo houses are a cheap

and safe alternative to the shelters of
plastic, wood and stone
Affordability:
Housing technology, low cost that doesn't
sacrifice quality, durability nor space.

It allows an option for populations of

scarce resources.

Bamboo houses are about 20% cheaper

than the usual type of social housing.

Raw materials are easily and readily

available in the bamboo growing
countries.
 Safety

Good resistance power due to lightweight

and favorable elastic property of bamboo

Comfort
People prefer bamboo houses in the
rural tropical areas where temperature is
high in summer
Bamboo house takes very short time for
assembling

Disaster management and quick relief to

victims.

One bamboo house can be assembled in

4-5 hours.

Durability

With proper treatment bamboo provides

service life of up to 30 years.
Bamboo acting as vertical
support to withstand the
load

The number of bamboos

to be used are decided as
per structural requirement

Bamboos are joined by g.I.nut

& bolts with the help of bamboo
mat board
 Ridge piece covered with
Mangalore tile.

The corrugated sheets of bamboo

are used as roofing material.

Bamboo jali for ventilation

Partly covered bamboo matt.

The truss is made out of bamboo.

Quarter split bamboos are used Bamboos are inserted in concreting
for partition walls which is then footing with wire mesh surrounded over it.
applied with treated mud. this is called pedestal footing.
 STRUCTURAL BAMBOO PROJECT

Bamboo joint made out of nut and bolts Joining of bamboo member at site
ASSEMBLING OF BAMBOO TRUSS
 Least-Tech versus High-Tech
There seem to be two parties in modern
bamboo architecture:
And those who try to find a modern least-
tech connection which can be produced
very cheap and assembled by unskilled
workers.
-Those who use bamboo as an alternative
material connected with industrial
standard elements like steel plates, nuts
and bolts Traditional least-tech connection
Different aims followed by the use of
bamboo lead to different connection layouts.
We chose the way that power
transition is done as a criterion to separate
them from each other.
Note: This information is especially about
connecting full bamboo canes. If you use
splitted bamboo, there are of course far more
A modern steel connection by Shoei Yoh
 Modern connection by Shoei Yoh in 1989.
For his bamboo roofs in Fukuoka, Shoei
Yoh used a steel tube put into the
bamboo and which is connected to the
cane with bolts.
The steel tube is strong enough to
withstand the pressure of the tightened
bolts. In addition there are two bolts in
vertical direction.
For the connection to the knot a steel bar
is welded into the tube and again it is
screwed to the knot.
Because of the numerous bolts the
connection is also suitable for greater
loads.
The result is a very technical but
strangely over styled looking connection.
Connection with steel tube and bolts
Modern connection by Renzo Piano
Building Workshop in 1997.

The canes are connected to a special

designed steel element via binding
wire. Instead of a bolt driven through
bar and cane, a wire is tied through
the holes and tied around the
bamboo. A fine artwork but because
of the fine wire seemingly only for
small forces.
Connection with steel wire
. WORKS OF
ARCHITECTS

WORKS OF ARCHITECTS
 Vélez
. a graduate architect, from the
University of Colombia in Bogotá.

Was allowed to experiment with the

locally available materials due to a lack of
a regulating authority and the relative
difficulty of importing the standard
building materials of brick and mortar.
Tower in the Parque de la Cafetera
in Colombia (1993) height= 19m
He intentionally keeps drawings simple,
usually freehand on single sheets of 8x11
graph paper. Cad- drawings only are made
for the purchaser or for building
improvements. The clearest concept to be
seen in his drawings is the necessity for
balance. These cantilevers are very large, but
maintain an obvious center of gravity over
the support. sketch for a tower
The main mistake some architects do is to
use bamboo like wood. His
efforts are trials, because he always tries
to plan with respecting bamboo
and its peculiarities.

Very often bamboo only was tested on

compression, but the real quality
exists in its capability to compense shear
tension. Vélez used this in his
framework constructions, which were
able to cantilever more than 9 meters
and to strain about 27 meters.
Bridge for the "Bob Marley
Museum" in Jamaica
1998 Simón Vélez took part in a summer-
workshop in Boisbuchet/France, which was
arranged by the Vitra Design Museum and
the Center Georges Pompidou. At this
opportunity he realized his first project in
Europe – a garden pavilion.

One year later he set up a prototype of a

'low-cost-house', which could be
built by the inhabitants.

The building is extremely resistant to

earthquakes and is based on bamboo
and loam. It has 60 square meters divided
on two floors and the value in
Columbia is about 5000$.
 Most of his buildings served to create a
good image of bamboo even in higher
social class of Columbia. This may be the
way to integrate and establish bamboo next
to concrete, steel, wood and stone as a full
building material.

Factory hall in Pennsylvania,

Colombia [1993]
 Shoei Yoh

Shoei Yoh was born in 1940 in

Kumamoto-City/Japan.1970 he founded
his office 'ShoeiYohArchitects' .In his
long career he won many architecture
prizes and at this time he teaches at the
'Graduate School of Keio University'.

In two projects he used bamboo as main

static structure. He also designed
a geodetic cupola [1989].
 Rocco Yim

The "Festival of Vision" in summer 2000

connects the cities Berlin and Hong
Kong, while both are in a time of change
and reorientation. The 'House of the
Cultures of the World' demonstrates in
this context the important attitude to
contemporary art made in Hong Kong.

In this context the pavilion of the

architect Rocco Yim from Hong Kong was
distinguished in front of the 'House of
the Cultures of the World' in a lake.

Bamboo on the one hand has an essential

meaning for his static structure
for high buildings, on the other hand for
temporary stages or Chinese
festivals.
Michael McDonough
Michael McDonough is an architect and furniture
designer, who discovered bamboo some years ago.
Since that time he attended with the possibilities
of this material.

After some furniture designs he wanted

to realize his project 'Mendocino high-
tech Bamboo Bridge' in 2000 .It is a
demonstration of the constructive
qualities of bamboo. This framework
construction is able to strain over 33
meters and is also able to compensate
more than 60 times of its own weight.
 Timothy Ivory
Timothy Ivory is the Director of Design
for Bamboo Furniture and trained
originally as a theatrical designer at the
University of Michigan.

His past work has included creating

theatrical environments mixing six foot
masks on bamboo poles with fabric as
wings, staging performance pieces
mixing circus, theatre and bamboo
sculpture and creating temporary or
transitional structures to educate as to
the benefits of building with bamboo as
a green/sustainable material.
 GARDEN

Bamboo is used in every traditional Chinese

garden for its beauty, the rustling sound of its
leaves in the breeze, and the feathery shadows
it casts on walls of the garden

Oriental belief holds that a bamboo grove

restores calmness and stimulates
creativity.
 FENCE

Slant-capped vertical fence

Tokusa Bamboo Fence

Rough cedar and bamboo enclosure Vertical Split Pine Top Fenc
e(Gallery)
 INTERIOR

The Restaurant

Show Screen/Bamboo Room Indoor Bamboo Handrails

(Gallery)

Piano Bench Round Table Kitchen Nook

 FURNITURE

Bamboo Mat
Bamboo Mat Board Table
Board Partition

Bamboo Mat
Board Table
 BMB Chair

BMB Wardrobe
BMB Chair
 BMB Round

BMB Sofa
BMB Book support
 MISCELLANEOUS USES OF BAMBOO
The fiber of bamboo has been used to make paper in China since early times. A
high quality hand-made paper is still produced in small quantities.
Coarse bamboo paper is still used to make spirit money in many Chinese
communities

Bamboo fabric is notable for its soft feel and natural antibacterial properties
citation needed.

Clothing made from bamboo fiber is popular for activities such as yoga.
Sharpened bamboo is also traditionally used to tattoo in Japan, Hawaii and
elsewhere.

Bamboo is also used as a shank extension on smoking pipes.

The sap of young stalks tapped during the rainy season may be fermented to
make ulanzi (a sweet wine) or simply made into a soft drink.
 CONCLUSION
BAMBOO HAS BEEN A PART OF LIFE FOR MANY CULTURES IN
MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD.

PEOPLE ARE BEGINNING TO ACCEPT BAMBOO AS A GENUINE

AND ECO FRIENDLY BUILDING MATERIAL.

MUCH RESEARCH HAS BEEN DONE TO ENHANCE THE

QUALITIES OF THE BAMBOO, WITH GREAT SUCCESS.

STILL, IT IS A VAST FIELD AND NEEDS TO BE EXPLORED

BETTER.

WHO KNOWS, MAYBE WITH PROPER RESEARCH AND

TREATMENT

BAMBOO GOES ON TO BE THE MOST SOUGHT AFTER BUILDING

MATERIAL OF TOMMOROW.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Arches, October 2004

Indian architect & builder February 2006

WEBOGRAPHY
www.bambooturtle.us
www.buildersbooksource.com
www.emissionizero.com
www.bambootechnologies.com
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