Steel…Concrete…Bamboo? Sustainable Construction With Tropical Style, For Any Climate

The article first appeared in HOTEL EXECUTIVE MAGAZINE it is reprinted here with permission.

Researching what’s up and coming in sustainability in resort construction, I ran a few specific Google searches; “Sustainable Steel” got two million on-line mentions, “Sustainable Concrete” also got two million hits, “Sustainable Hardwood” got one million hits but I knew I was in the right niche in today’s construction industry when “Sustainable Bamboo” got 1.7 million on-line mentions. Steel, Concrete, Bamboo! When did that happen???

Well, specifically it happened in November 2004 when the International Code Council certified that Structural Bamboo Poles produced by Hawaii-based Bamboo Technologies comply with International Building Code (IBC), International Residential Code (IRC) and Uniform Building Code (UBC) standards.

Since then, the Bamboo Technologies factory in Vietnam has constructed and shipped over 100 building-code compliant bamboo structures used as homes and vacation resorts around the world, including Belize Island Resorts, Belize, Central America, Kalani Oceanside Retreat, Big Island, Hawaii, Bamboo Village Beach Resort, Phan Thiet, Vietnam and The Magic Waters Resort, Rarotonga, Cook Islands (where the bamboo structures have successfully stood up to three hurricanes).

This was the first time a species of bamboo was approved as structural building material for permitted residential and commercial buildings and it paved the way for the legitimate use of structural bamboo by architects, designers and builders worldwide.

The international certification was the result of decades of research and testing in conjunction with the International Bamboo Foundation, the Environmental Bamboo Foundation, The University of Hawaii and Washington State University, to name just a few.

So far, only two types of thick-walled bamboo are suitable for construction and they need to be vacuum pressure treated in an earth-friendly Borate (salt) solution, altering the sugars and starch, which both hardens the bamboo and protects it from insects. Additional treatments with non-toxic, earth friendly, fungicides protect the bamboo from molding and finish coats are made using water based acrylic with no VOC’s.

Untreated bamboo is extremely susceptible to powder post beetles and often lasts as few as two years. Treated bamboo however has a life expectancy as long as any protected hardwood. Independent laboratory strength tests show that structural bamboo is 50 times stronger than oak and in fire tests it performed significantly better than wood both in terms of flame spread, fuel contribution and structural performance.

Basically, any four-by-four post can be replaced with a three-inch round bamboo pole. Bamboo poles have an efficient strength to weight ratio, and when joined properly, can create a structural horizontal beam or vertical column over 165 ft long that’s just as strong as steel and significantly lighter in weight. Treated Bamboo poles are currently being used as trusses, beams, columns, posts, joists and rafters. The high fiber strength of bamboo makes it a particularly appealing material for use in composites as well.

The joining of the bamboo poles is key to structural designs that are basically endless. Methods of steel tabbing the ends of bamboo poles allow them to be bolted together like tinker toys. This structural frame is then surfaced with bamboo plywood and filled with insulation (which can also be made from bamboo) and viola, you get a pre-fabricated wall panel that allows for all sorts of affordable, yet structurally sound buildings for any climate!

Computer-aided modular design has allowed for economical factory assembly of pre-engineered and pre-fabricated bamboo home and commercial structure “kits” that are supremely affordable (around $170 per square foot), exceed all local building code requirements for earthquake and hurricane zones, are fully insurable and mortgage-able, and are really cool to look at and live in.

And because they are hand built and fully assembled in the factory before they are broken apart into panels, elaborately documented (insert tab “A” into Slot “B”), and then packed into standard shipping containers, when they do get to the construction site, wherever in the world that may be, local crews can usually accomplish the kit’s basic assembly in just three days.

NEXT WEEK: The Grass IS Greener! A presentation at the 7th World Bamboo Congress showed a steel column having an “environmental cost” over 300 times that of Bamboo! Plus building with bamboo pulls carbon out of the atmosphere – find out more…

Sam Small is Vice President of Developing Markets with Bamboo Technologies, based in Maui, Hawaii. After a successful career in mass media, culminating with 8 yrs service in the unique position of V.P. of Broadcast Production at Prudential Financial where he directed and edited over 200 national TV spots promoting the firm through one of the largest public offerings in the history of Wall Street, Sam Small has turned his sights towards promoting Bamboo as a sustainable and globally appropriate construction material. Originally a customer of Bamboo Technologies, Sam was so impressed with the product and the company that he became directly involved. He has so far supervised the assembly and finishing of three bamboo structures, and currently lives in a bamboo house on Maui. Mr Small can be contacted at 808-572-1007  or 973-271-0788 email: sam@bambooliving.com Visit http://www.bambooliving.com

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