Building with bamboo

Since primeval times man used bamboo to form his living space. Quite early he discovered the advantages of the upright growing plant as a versatile applicable material. It grows fast, it has elasticity, has a low dead weight and can be easily worked on and formed with a knife.

Before the Bronze Age and Iron Age man realised the structural load-carrying capacity of the hollow natural material and knew that the long fibers of the bamboo deliver a sort of «herbal steel» effect, thanks to the huge amount of Siliziumdioxide.

This knowledge about the unusual material led to variously planned constructions which are also found in the traditional residential constructions of Asian and African cultures as in the modernism of Colombian and Japanese architecture.

Unfortunately, in Europe around the turn of the century new materials like concrete, steel and plastic have made bamboo fall into oblivion. Bamboo became known as the «wood of the poor man». However, lately since wood has become scarce worldwide and synthetic materials often have turned out to be as environmental-incriminating, experts forecast the bamboo’s rediscovery as a high-quality building material.