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Using Bamboo to Build Sustainably

Article  in  IABSE Symposium Report · January 2009

DOI: 10.2749/222137809796088620

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 Using bamboo to build sustainably

Neri Braulin Valeria Chioetto Mario de Miranda

Architect Founder and President Consulting Engineer
EMISSIONIZERO Association, EMISSIONIZERO Studio DE MIRANDA Associati,
Milano, Italy Milano, Italy Milano, Italy
neri@emissionizero.net emissionizero@emissionizero.net mdm@demiranda.it

Neri Braulin born 1942, obtained his
degree in Architecture from
University Institute of Architecture of
Venice (I.U.A.V.).
He is responsible for the
bioarchitectural planning and
development at EMISSIONIZERO.
He is also Professor of Technology of
Architecture at the Politecnico di
Milano
Valeria Chioetto, born 1956, is a
social psychologist. She has a
degree in Philosophy and is Post-
Graduate in Psychology, both
from Università degli Studi di
Milano.
Since 2000 she leads the non-
profit EMISSIONIZERO
Association
Mario de Miranda, born 1954,
obtained his Civil Engineering
degree from the Politecnico di
Milano. As a Partner of Studio de
Miranda Associati - Consulting
Engineers, he is experienced in the
design and construction of large
bridges and structures. He is also
Professor of Structural Design at the
University of Venice - IUAV

Summary
Bamboo is a traditional building material in tropical areas of the world where it grows in large
amounts. The physical characteristics of bamboo make this highly renewable material suitable for
solving a number of problems of sustainable building, mainly in the civil and infrastructural sectors
as it can provide a lightweight structural member used for supporting buildings. In recent years,
bamboo has received new attention as a substitute of wood and steel in several building projects.
Innovative technological and engineering developments now make it possible to use bamboo for
public infrastructures as well as roadway bridges construction. The aim of the paper is to
demonstrate the feasibility and convenience in many situations of such infrastructures by means of
some practical issues taken from the experiences of the authors like: the presentation of design
concepts and construction-maintenance techniques; the illustration of the results of recent research
developed in Italy on the layout and strength of structural joints; the description of some recent
structures built by applying the aforementioned concepts.
Keywords: sustainable constructions, bamboo structures, green building, renewable building
materials, bridge engineering, laminated bamboo, bamboo joints, bamboo preservation treatments

1. Introduction
For thousands of years bamboo has been used for the manufacture of small artefacts as well as for
home building, suspended bridges, and scaffolding. As a construction material it has a history and
tradition. It is not new or modern, but rather a very ancient material that was just recently
rediscovered for a new and broader spectrum of applications, as people in modern society have
begun to ask questions about the ecological sustainability of conventional building materials.
One such application is as a construction material for residential dwellings and infrastructure in
developing countries. Bamboo:
-Grows rapidly in tropical regions and can be harvested in five years
- It can be worked on with simple tools
- It is easily separated into light-weight elements that can be transported by hand
- Minimizes the need for machinery and transportation
In summary, this material is ideal for an economic construction, and for do-it-yourself-construction
by single owner/builders, or by small organizations. Finally, besides being practical and
economical, bamboo offers good structural characteristics with some high-performance features that

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are often comparable to those of high-tech building materials.

2. The structure of bamboo

Morphologically, the culm presents a hollow

structure with a circular section, with longitudinal
cellulosic fibers incorporated in a ligneous matrix.
The outer fibers are the thickest and strongest. The
cylindrical shell is stiffened by nodes and full
diaphragms, regularly spaced at distances that
vary between one and four diameters, for the
largest culms.
The conformation of a bamboo culm is therefore
one of nature’s best examples of structural
efficiency. In engineering terms, the bamboo culm
could be defined as a tubular multi-diaphragm
structure made of a composite material with low
specific weight, reinforced with unidirectional
fibers exhibiting a differentiated and optimized
strength.
On a much smaller scale, we can find a natural
example of a similarly efficient structure only in
the bones of birds, which are also strong, elastic,
light-weight and hollow.
Fig.1: Bamboo sections
This high-efficiency is evident in the slim shape and dimensions that a culm of bamboo can
achieve: a height of 35 m and a diameter of 20 cm translate to an overhang-thickness ratio of 175.
Considering that, with an average thickness equal to roughly a tenth of the diameter, the radius of
inertia is approximately a third of the diameter, we have the surprising consequence that the
“eulerian” slenderness of bamboo culms, i.e. the ratio of the free-inflection length to the radius of
inertia, reaches levels of 1000! This level is likely unsurpassed in nature for elements of this size.

3. Mechanical properties
To obtain these features, the material must obviously possess high mechanical characteristics.
However the strength is variable, depending on a number of parameters. For example Guadua, a
type of bamboo commonly found in Central America, has a longitudinal traction strength in the
order of 120-150 N/mm2, comparable to that of low carbon steel. The compression and bending
strength is governed by the level of local fiber instability, but is generally around 60÷100 N/mm2.
The resistance to shear along surfaces parallel to the fibers is around 10 N/mm2.
The longitudinal module of elasticity varies between roughly 3500 N/mm2 for the inner fibers to
about 21000 N/mm2 for the outer fibers. This non-uniformity of the stiffness across a section of a
bamboo culm explains why the module of elasticity measured with bending tests (referred to a
homogenous section) is greater than the corresponding module of elasticity for traction and
compression. The average module of elasticity varies consequently from roughly 12000 N/mm2 for
axial stresses to about 18000 N/mm2 for bending stresses. Specific weight varies between 450 and
600 kg/m3. All of the mechanical parameters are somewhat variable, basically depending on the
quality of Guadua, its origin, its maturity when cut, and its humidity. In general, mechanical
characteristics will improve with increasing specific weight; by virtue of this circumstance, we can
predict those characteristics using empirical formulae expressed as functions of specific weight.

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4. Design aspects
4.1 Joints
Once the main mechanical characteristics of the material have been defined, either through
theoretical estimation or direct testing, the design of bamboo structures requires consideration of
some of the technical aspects of this material.
The most important of these aspects is the presence of original material defects and their effect on
compression strength. Despite being “finished” and ready for use as structural elements, without the
need for further preparation, the bamboo culms are naturally imperfect. Their dimensions are
variable, their cross-diameters vary along the length of the element. The typical configuration is that
of a conical section, not of a cylinder. The axis of the culm is not perfectly straight: eccentricities in
the order of one diameter or even two diameters are not infrequent. The material displays an elastic-
viscous behaviour when exposed to prolonged loading. Cross shrinking may over time result in the
formation of cracks. Ultimately, even if the design of bent or straight elements is not particularly
problematic, an accurate analysis of the stability of compressed culms would theoretically require a
considerable degree of theoretical sophistication - a geometrically non-linear approach that
considers the time variable, etc.
In practice, it is easier to use simpler design procedures that account for the various effects of the
material’s natural imperfections by way of appropriate correction coefficients. This problem is
addressed by a recently published book on ISO guidelines, as well as by ongoing research at various
Central-American, Colombian, German and Dutch universities. Another area of great interest is the
conceptual design and realization of joints. Much progress has been made already, and much
remains to be made. Joining tubular structures is already a difficult task with metallic carpentry.
Bamboo culms bring additional difficulties related to the variable dimensions of the elements to be
joined, their relatively low shear strength, and the need for simple joints.
A great variety of joint designs have been
proposed: joints made entirely of bamboo, or
using wooden inserts, or metallic inserts, or
concrete reinforcements (see the figure 2).
The Vergiate Pavilion uses a modern,
effective joint with fish-mouth cut faces,
steel pretensioned bars and internal
concrete/mortar reinforcement. Another
attractive joint type, basically applying the
Mero system (used in reticular space
structures) to bamboo elements, was studied
and proposed by students of Aachen
University in Germany. However, despite the
existence of a plethora of ideas and
experimental models, we still need empirical
data, based on methodical testing of the
actual load carrying and deformation
characteristics of these joints.
Fig. 2: Bending tests on a simple joint

This problem could be eliminated by specific research performed at universities and/or research
centers willing to provide professionally qualified, scientific research to the bamboo industry. The
University of Firenze has provided a valuable contribution in this area by a research on structural
joints originated from an initiative to promote the study and use of bamboo that was promoted by
Valeria Chioetto (EMISSIONIZERO).

4.2 Cracking
From the static point of view, there is still something that needs further research: the incidence of
the inevitable cracks on the mechanical performance of bamboo in the various structural elements
(Figure 11).

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Studio De Miranda, within a research project on sustainable structural materials carried on with
Emissionizero, developed an initial theoretical model to define the acceptability criteria for the
longitudinal cracks in Guadua culms. Considering the criticality of compression force for cracked
bamboo culms, we studied the ultimate extreme state of local instability through the analysis of two
possible scenarios: the presence of a single crack and of two or more parallel cracks.
In the first case only the torsional stiffness is largely reduced in the zone of cracking, while both
global and local stiffness are reduced in a small extent. In the second case, the local buckling of a
beam-liker mode prevails on the shell-like mode, then largely reducing the critical load when
increasing the number of cracks along the circumference.
For the first scenario, with thicknesses of 10mm and free lenghts of more than 4.5 m, the model
found that the culm maintains almost all its original structural efficiency as long as the crack’s
length is 1,500 mm or less, using the safety factor recommended by the ISO draft currently under
discussion. In the second scenario, if the minimum distance between two adjacent cracks is between
10 and 50 mm, the average length of the two cracks must be less than 130 mm. If the minimum
distance between the two adjacent cracks is between 50 and 100 mm, the average crack length must
be less than 2,8 times the distance, minus 10 mm.
When these acceptable maximum crack lengths are exceeded, the culm should be restored, or
structurally downgraded. The restoration of the original bearing capacity can be obtained by sealing
the cracks with resins and applying circumferential narrow bands at intervals equal to half the
acceptable maximum length of the crack.
In the absence of restoration, downgrading of the culm can be determined by this formula:
reduced bearing capacity = K x original bearing capacity
where K is the ratio between the value of the maximum acceptable crack length and the actual
measured length.

4.3 Preservation
To make bamboo suited for construction use, it is essential that initial shrinking occur when the
culm contains a minimum quantity of starch. That is when the bamboo is germinating, with a
waxing moon, before dawn, when the plant’s metabolic activity is slowest and insects are least
aggressive. Culms of larger diameter than 5 cm need a height of 58,2 times the diameter for good
quality.
Treatment against the attack of insects and fungus is essential to obtain construction material of
good quality and long life. One preservation method consists of leaving the cut culm lying
vertically in the bamboo grove for a month, with all its leaves still attached, so that the removal of
ferments can continue, immersing it afterwards in water for another month, and finally in a solution
of caustic soda.
The best preservation method for bamboo is the “Boucherie” consisting in pumping a 50% solution
of borax and boric acid in the vascular system of the culm.

5. Applications
Bamboo offers many applications in construction as recorded by numerous experiences from the
ancient times to the recent past.
Lamellar, or glued layered, bamboo represents an alternative to the direct use of culms, and is
realized in the same way as the traditional use of lamellar wood. Tests performed so far, especially
in Germany and Colombia, have yielded extremely light and strong beams. Applications are also
possible in high-performance, high-tech structural construction. Problems of durability can be
brilliantly solved with bamboo, and construction techniques basically overlap the classic techniques
of lamellar wood. However, this type of application departs from that of the do-it-yourself, moving
closer to the classic field of multiple-material, prefabricated construction.

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 5.1 For homes
Bamboo homes have been built all around the world. While these have been generally categorized
as “social housing” or architecture for the poor, there are also examples of use of this material in
quality constructions such as temples, pavilions and bridges. In the past twenty years, a certain
number of Colombian architects have proposed bamboo as a high-tech material for quality
constructions.

5.2 As concrete reinforcement

The use of concrete reinforcement in the construction of bamboo structural members is not new, it
was experimented in Italy during World War II. This method works well as long as the moisture
within the bamboo elements is kept to a minimum. Consequently shrinking is negligible and
adherence with the concrete is not impaired. The rupture behaviour of concrete with bamboo fiber
armour is not ductile and the relatively low module of elasticity of the fibers results in the need to
limit the stress of the fibers to a minimum, to minimize deformations and cracks. However, the
availability and low cost of the material may make its use convenient for simple construction
projects.

5.3 Bridges
Bamboo has been used in the building of
bridges, normally of relatively small sizes, of
various forms and types. For small bridge
lengths, up to 10-15 m, intuition and willingness
to abound in the use of materials may be
sufficient for the realization of simple pedestrian
bridges. The development of longer bridge
lengths and the anticipation of the use of the
bridge for motorized traffic require a thorough
engineering study. There is room for major
advances here.
Some unsuccessful experiences of bamboo
bridges of medium-large size suggest prudence.
A “bridge engineering” approach is required
even in a field in which a somewhat
“spontaneous” approach often prevails. Fig.3: Sketch of a simple bamboo
bridge (MdM-Emissionizero).
The main key points of a successful bamboo
bridge can be defined as:
- a correct static system
- strong and rigid joints
- a good and reliable preservation.
1. A statically “correct” system means that the bridge should follow the good principles of
traditional bridge design, avoiding the spatial - multihyperstatic – complicate modern systems.
The low ductility factor of the material, together with a natural deformability of joints require
statically- determined systems. Hyperstatic systems, rely on the stiffness of joints and are
sensible to distorsions and “rigid” joints are a necessity in road bridges. The joints should
maintain their stiffness and integrity even in presence of repeated and dynamic loads. The
research carried on in Italy in these years gave some guidance: joints prestressed by tensioned
bars with the hollow part of the culms involved in the joint filled by cement based mortar, work
well and behave as rigid. Anyway a possible alternative option is to design the main system as a
static-determinate system, able to sustain all loads, and overlapping to this principal system a
second structural system with the aim of increasing stiffness and redoundancy.
2. A reliable preservation is a must for a permanent structure. A discussion was made in item 4.1,
with the conclusion that today a reliable long-time preservation is possible. Nevertheless nude
culms, even if well preserved, cannot be directly exposed to rain and sun. This means that

5
 bamboo bridges must be
conceived as follows:
- “lower structure” bridges, with
the main structure placed below
the deck, then protecting the
structure
- bridges covered by a roof
system
Obviously, many of the above
mentioned problems disappear or
highly reduce if the bridge elements
are composed by bamboo laminated
beams, which implies a high strength
of the material, joints in which
members are naturally “solid”,
resistance to external attacks, due to
an intrinsic preservation.
This way very efficient bamboo
structures can be built, benefiting Fig. 3:Bamboo bridge in Colombia (Arch.J.Botero)
from the know-how on classical
laminated wood structures, with the advantage of using a much more sustainable material, of very
rapid growth and mostly available in many developing countries.

6. Case studies
6.1 The Dome
A dome structure was created by
EMISSIONIZERO on the occasion of the 40th
anniversary of WWF Italia, using culms of
Guadua Angustifolia with average diameter of 10
cm resembling a 5/8 section of a sphere with a
maximum diameter of 6,00 m and a maximum
height of roughly 4,00 m.
It is constituted by five parallel archs composed
of straight bamboo segments, dry-joined with
threaded bars. The curved profile of the arches is
achieved by splitting the curve in straight
segments so that the curvature is related to the
ratio between segment length and culm diameter.
Fig. 5: Bamboo Dome (EMISSIONIZERO)

6.2 The Vergiate Pavilion

Bamboo embodies well the themes of sustainability and its interest becomes even greater when it
can be experienced in real life, as was the case with the ZERI Pavilion built for the Hanover Expo
2000.
Watching such an architectural masterpiece in Guadua and being explained its symbolic message as
a “monument to sustainability”, the ZERI Pavilion invited all visitors to consider the ways in which
bamboo could play a role in providing a compelling answer to the environmental, energetical, social

6
and economic crises denounced at the Rio Summit.
EMISSIONIZERO was inspired by the ZERI Pavilion and in early 2002 conducted significant and
exhaustive research. It then sought out a partner interested in hosting a experiential/hands-on
learning project that includes workshops on “Building in Bamboo” This included seeking a site on
which a permanent structure for public use could be realized by the participants to the initiative.
In the summer of 2002, the Municipality of Vergiate consented to the initiative so that in July of the
same year, EMISSIONIZERO and the Municipality signed an agreement outlining each partner's
responsibilities with regards to actually constructing this structure.
The Vergiate Bamboo Pavilion sits in a small village in the vicinity of Varese, Italy. It is the result of
an initiative in learning-by-doing which was proposed and realized EMISSIONIZERO. The
structure was inspired by a sketch by Colombian architect Simon Velez. All preliminary and
detailed design, as well as construction managing were done by Italian architect Neri Braulin.
The Pavilion covers an area of roughly 500 square meters, with a span of approximately 30 meters
by 16. It has three two-sloped “roof” sections, a central one, 13 m long, 4.50 m high at the roof
gutter line and 6.80 m at the culm’s intrados and two side sections, about one meter lower in height
and 8 m and 11 m long, respectively.
It is made up of 15 portals at an intereaxis distance of two-meters. A single portal is the formed
portion of coverage, of a width of approximately two meters, that straddles on each side two trusses
resting on three columns bundled together: a vertical one and two leaning ones. Two out of each
group of three columns serve as buttresses to the structure. The distance between the vertical
supports of the truss is 10 m.
The bamboo (400 culms of 9 m length each and of varying diameters, from 8 to 16 cm) was shipped
from Colombia. The preservation method at that time commonly used in Colombia was fumigation,
which is also what was used at the Hanover Pavilion, a method that has been progressively
abandoned as non sufficiently effective.

Fig. 4: The Vergiate Bamboo Pavilion - EMISSIONIZERO

The sequence of construction operations in that particular building process was the exact opposite
of what is used in conventional buildings, starting with the construction of the roof and ending at

7
 the foundations. The basic reason for this inversion of the conventional construction sequence lies
in the fact that bamboo is an imperfect material and for that reason the various structural elements
must necessarily be different. It is therefore recommended to try and transfer those dimensional
imperfections, where they are harmless to the geometry of the other structural elements, i.e., to the
foundations that can absorb dimensional tolerances, hiding them from sight.
The construction of the Vergiate Pavilion required for every semi-truss 15 fish-mouthed joints with
the associated threaded fixing bars. Consequently, approximately 900 joints were realized just for
the beams, without considering the joints for the culms, the secondary covering structures and the
buttressing pillars, foundation pillars, etc.
EMISSIONIZERO held many workshops at Vergiate to address the various aspects of the use of
bamboo in construction. On the topic of the proper and effective ways to preserve bamboo in
preparation for usage in buildings, we had the educational contribution of the great expert Prof.
Walter Liese. Static problem areas in bamboo construction and design, was a discussion led by the
Studio De Miranda and by Arch. Giuliano Curti. Then the final workshop, held by Arch. Jaime
Botero, focused on do-it-yourself construction and prefabrication processes made possible by new
conceptual joint designs.
This experience had its epilogue with the static test: the structure was loaded up to a maximum of
14 KN concentrated on a single frame, to simulate the weight of snow on the building; and up to
5KN along two horizontal axis to simulate wind loads, measuring loading and unloading
deformations in the loaded truss and adjacent trusses.
The linear deformation behaviour with progressive loading demonstrated by the structure was
accepted with great satisfaction by EMISSIONIZERO’s project managers, Neri Braulin and Valeria
Chioetto, as well as by the inspecting and testing authorities, i.e. the accredited Studio De Miranda
Associati and the Masini Institute, and by the representatives of the entity that manages this first
European permanent structure for public use, realized entirely in bamboo.
The task assigned to the Vergiate structure was therefore dual in nature: on one hand it was to
educate in the building of bamboo structures; and on the other, it was to demonstrate the static
strength, the decorative potential and the economical feasibility of the use of bamboo as a building
material. For EMISSIONIZERO, who designed and built the structure, it represents a permanent
observatory of the performance of bamboo over time, based on local weather and biological
conditions.

7. Conclusions
As a building material, bamboo presents contrasting features. In spite of its widespread perception
as a “poor” and temporary construction material, it shows amazing mechanical and structural
characteristics. Research comparing the Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) of structural components made
with traditional building materials like wood, iron, concrete and those made with bamboo,
demonstrates that bamboo ones are twenty times more sustainable in terms of environmental
preservation or restoration costs. Therefore, bamboo offers a real opportunity for the realization of
more sustainable habitat construction that includes both: economical residential buildings that are
relatively easy to construct; as well as more sophisticated, light-weight and high-quality structures.
Taking advantage of these opportunities will require sound project design and good engineering
practices based on the right theoretical and empirical knowledge. This requires a mutually
profitable integration between the world of sustainable and “green” construction and the
mainstream academic, governmental/regulatory and financial communities in particular with the
world of bridge engineering.

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