Via reader Norm, I heard about this website that shows photos of houses that have been built using bamboo. What I had not expected was how spectacular they are. The accompanying article says that the houses are sustainable but what impressed me was that bamboo, something that I always thought of as a flexible plant, seems to be strong enough to support such large structures with plumbing, etc.
When I was in China I routinely saw construction and remodel sites using bamboo scaffolding. Guys 4-5 stories up on bamboo scaffolds doing welding…
Flammable, too.
I love that photo of thin-sectioned bamboo used as a decorative element.
Amazing! Some of that architecture looks like it came out of the Myst games (some of my favorite).
Now lets see ’em make housing for the poor…
Robert
Clearly the poor have had bamboo houses forever, it’s only with treatment with boron that the material lasts long enough to make safe complex structures. It’s more a case of convincing the poor that the cheapest ever building material can overcome its stigma of crappiness and become a symbol of success. Concrete and modern corrugated iron typically last longer in a tropical climate.