Bamboo Building Materials

A hardy, durable product from a renewable resource, bamboo building materials are becoming more and more popular with eco-aware consumers and environmentally responsible designers. Because of other positive attributes and the sustainability of bamboo as a natural resource, it is becoming very common to see bamboo not only as part of a structure, but as the entirety of a number of structures.

Bamboo Structures

There are many examples of structures made completely of bamboo on the Internet, such as on the Bamboo Living website . Of course, these examples are just a few of the types of structures that have been and continue to be made completely out of bamboo. Other examples of structures would be:

• Walls
• Support structures
• Roofs
• Bridges
• Houses
• Flooring
• Room dividers

These structures are continually built because of not only the aesthetic value of bamboo, but the amazing qualities that it brings to any building.

Bamboo Attributes

The reasons that bamboo is being used so frequently as a building material includes not only the strength of the bamboo but also how it affects the environment. The attributes of bamboo that make it a great building material include:

• Renewable - While traditional lumber sources take decades to replenish, up to seventy years, bamboo is the fastest growing plant in the world. It can be harvested and then be ready to be harvested again in just months.
• Strength - Bamboo has been tested to have the tensile strength of light steel.
• Resistance to pests - Because of a natural bio-agent called bamboo kun, bamboo is resistant to pests and pathogens. This means less rotting and loss of strength.
• Sturdiness - Bamboo is generally sturdier than the most popular hardwood for hardwood flooring, Maple wood.
• Flexibility - Because of the nature of bamboo, it is quite flexible when needed, and can be bent into shapes as necessary.

Building with bamboo seems to be the wave of the future. From consumers passionate about the environment, to designers looking for something hip and elegant, all kinds of people are getting interested in bamboo building materials. This renewable resource is slowly emerging out of ancient texts and becoming the modern ideal for building materials.

Architectural Bamboo