As a renewable construction material, bamboo is the one with the smallest footprint, since it grows quickly, and the resource can be replaced cyclically very easily.
Bamboo grows like a colony, and in the tropics, it develops with speed, rather, it must be controlled to prevent it from invading territories that we do not want to populate with bamboo.
With this feature, it is striking that it is not more accessible. Although you can find the culmos in the market, it is not the most popular, nor the cheapest.
Bamboo can be used for architecture in its natural form (which is a cane), it must meet certain characteristics to resist a building, earthquakes and winds; the Guadua Agustifolia and the Aspen, for example, are species that can be used structurally.
Stretched cane is also worked as mats, that are used for sheets, walls, ceilings (the problem is that it is irregular, permeable, which must be solved), in tapes or strips (the cane is cut longitudinally) for curved structures and fabrics, and currently a laminated bamboo is also achieved, (it is crushed, pressed and glued to achieve solid and standardized rectangular sections); this technology is still very expensive, and is manufactured in very few places.
It could be said that the demand for the material is not high, perhaps due to ignorance in relation to its possibilities of use, the lack of people trained to implement it, and perhaps a negative prejudice, that it will not last over time, and that it has a too rustic image for many programs. In relation to the frequency of use, bamboo is only used more in internal finishes, then in temporary installations, for which the material is very effective (given that the waste is decomposed), ranches, where the use is not permanent, and finally it is used as a structure of residential and commercial buildings.
Somehow, we do not have the cultural history that allows us to be familiar with the material and the constructive techniques to use it as a structure, in order to know the tools, and develop technologies that facilitate its assembly. Although there are “inventions” of architects and designers that seek to solve the articulations, it is still an artisanal implementation, since all the reeds are different, which implies difficulty in standardizing the processes.
To achieve greater popularity, on one hand, we must lose the fear of using it, although it generates curiosity and attraction, it is still seen as something exotic, only for some unconditional lovers of nature. And then, we must encourage the development of a greater formal academy to train professionals and masons to become familiar with the constructive techniques, achieve greater efficiencies and make it more accessible.
For us, it has been an enriching experience to investigate renewable materials in structures, the final results are very attractive and out of the conventional, they communicate health and link with nature, the material is noble and can be conquered, if you have the patience and interest it demands.
