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Kennedy 1 Sean Kennedy Professor Longo Architectural Construction II 24 March 2014 Material Research: Bamboo Material Specifications: Master Specification Number? Manufacturer? Manufacturers of Bamboo consist of Guadua Bamboo, Teragren, Cali Bamboo etc. Is there a common generic term for this material? The term for bamboo in construction is simply as it is, Bamboo. Material Application What is the materials’ intended or primary use? Bamboo can be used in many different ways. Doors, flooring, tables, chairs, columns, beams, wall panels, and other structural elements can all be made out of bamboo. Bamboo doors are laminated bamboo panels that are natural and sustainable. Bamboo flooring is known as some of the hardest wood flooring in the world and comes in plenty of styles and colors. For tables and chairs, bamboo can be used for all aspects of it including legs and the part you sit or eat on. In terms of structure, Bamboo can be used as beams and columns. Bamboo naturally can be as wide as 6”, but can also be used as something similar to glulam. “Several flattened bamboo panels are glued and pressed to each other and sawn into specific dimensions” (Guadua 7). Lastly, bamboo wall panels are very common. “The panels are against insect infection, mold and oven dried to approximately 13% moisture content” (Guadua 2). Other structural elements made out of bamboo are roofs and are made similarly to the wall panels. Physical Properties: Finish: For uses other than doors, floors and wall/roof panels, bamboo is mostly used in its natural state. For Bamboo wall/roof panels, bamboo poles are sliced down the middle and flattened. The white inner layer is than removed because it attracts insects. For doors and flooring, this process is taking further. After the poles are sliced and flatten, they are sanded and coated with a polyurethane finish or laminated. Surface forms/shapes: Bamboo is shaped differently depending on its use. Bamboo can be used in its natural cylinder shape for columns, beams, tables and chairs. After sliced and flatten, bamboo is a thin rectangular shape, which can be combined to form a cubic shape, which can be used again for column and beams. Dimensions: According to Guaduabamboo.com, the bamboo they sell ranges from 614 cm in diameter, 6 m in length, and from 921 kg in weight (Guadua 10). Acoustic Properties: Bamboo has great acoustic properties and does a tremendous job absorbing sound. Wood is commonly used in theatres or concert halls for this reason.

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Page 1: Bamboo

  Kennedy  1  

Sean  Kennedy  Professor  Longo  Architectural  Construction  II  24  March  2014  

Material  Research:  Bamboo    

Material  Specifications:  • Master  Specification  Number?  • Manufacturer?  Manufacturers  of  Bamboo  consist  of  Guadua  Bamboo,  

Teragren,  Cali  Bamboo  etc.      • Is  there  a  common  generic  term  for  this  material?  The  term  for  bamboo  

in  construction  is  simply  as  it  is,  Bamboo.        Material  Application  

• What  is  the  materials’  intended  or  primary  use?      Bamboo  can  be  used  in  many  different  ways.    Doors,  flooring,  tables,  chairs,  columns,  beams,  wall  panels,  and  other  structural  elements  can  all  be  made  out  of  bamboo.    Bamboo  doors  are  laminated  bamboo  panels  that  are  natural  and  sustainable.    Bamboo  flooring  is  known  as  some  of  the  hardest  wood  flooring  in  the  world  and  comes  in  plenty  of  styles  and  colors.    For  tables  and  chairs,  bamboo  can  be  used  for  all  aspects  of  it  including  legs  and  the  part  you  sit  or  eat  on.    In  terms  of  structure,  Bamboo  can  be  used  as  beams  and  columns.    Bamboo  naturally  can  be  as  wide  as  6”,  but  can  also  be  used  as  something  similar  to  glulam.    “Several  flattened  bamboo  panels  are  glued  and  pressed  to  each  other  and  sawn  into  specific  dimensions”  (Guadua  7).    Lastly,  bamboo  wall  panels  are  very  common.    “The  panels  are  against  insect  infection,  mold  and  oven  dried  to  approximately  13%  moisture  content”  (Guadua  2).    Other  structural  elements  made  out  of  bamboo  are  roofs  and  are  made  similarly  to  the  wall  panels.    

• Physical  Properties:  Finish:  For  uses  other  than  doors,  floors  and  wall/roof  panels,  bamboo  is  mostly  used  in  its  natural  state.    For  Bamboo  wall/roof  panels,  bamboo  poles  are  sliced  down  the  middle  and  flattened.    The  white  inner  layer  is  than  removed  because  it  attracts  insects.    For  doors  and  flooring,  this  process  is  taking  further.    After  the  poles  are  sliced  and  flatten,  they  are  sanded  and  coated  with  a  polyurethane  finish  or  laminated.    Surface  forms/shapes:    Bamboo  is  shaped  differently  depending  on  its  use.    Bamboo  can  be  used  in  its  natural  cylinder  shape  for  columns,  beams,  tables  and  chairs.    After  sliced  and  flatten,  bamboo  is  a  thin  rectangular  shape,  which  can  be  combined  to  form  a  cubic  shape,  which  can  be  used  again  for  column  and  beams.    Dimensions:  According  to  Guaduabamboo.com,  the  bamboo  they  sell  ranges  from  6-­‐14  cm  in  diameter,  6  m  in  length,  and  from  9-­‐21  kg  in  weight  (Guadua  10).      

• Acoustic  Properties:  Bamboo  has  great  acoustic  properties  and  does  a  tremendous  job  absorbing  sound.    Wood  is  commonly  used  in  theatres  or  concert  halls  for  this  reason.      

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• Structural  Properties:  Bamboo  has  the  capabilities  to  be  used  as  any  kind  of  structure.    Buildings,  bridges  and  pavilions  have  all  been  built  out  of  bamboo  previously.    The  bamboo  structure  can  be  the  cylinder  pieces  of  bamboo  2-­‐6  inches  in  diameter  or  glulam  type  pieces  where  flat  panels  of  bamboo  are  glued  together  to  create  a  cubed  column,  or  beam.    In  addition,  bamboo  has  been  used  as  concrete  reinforcement,  similar  to  rebar.      Moreover,  bamboo  can  be  used  as  scaffolding  for  construction  purposes.    

• Installation  Methods:  Because  Bamboo  is  not  commonly  found  in  places  all  around  the  world,  installation  would  consist  of  pre-­‐manufactured  pieces  delivered  to  the  site  and  assembled  there  after.    Bamboo  building  pieces  are  tied  together  tightly  by  the  proper  cords  at  their  intersections.      

• Cost  Analysis:    The  price  of  bamboo  strongly  depends  on  the  diameter  of  the  pole,  along  with  its  length  and  color.    To  get  more  specific,  According  to  Sunsetbamboo.com,  3  basic  poles  of  3  feet  in  length,  5In  in  diameter  would  cost  just  over  $60  (sunset  bamboo).    From  there,  the  heights  get  taller  making  the  price  more  expensive  as  well.    In  addition,  bamboo  wall  panels  and  fences  can  be  purchased  as  well.    For  example,  a  natural  bamboo  wall  panel  4  feet  by  8  feet  would  cost  just  shy  over  $70  (sunset  bamboo).    An  example  of  a  bamboo  fence  would  be  anywhere  from  $30  to  $100  depending  on  the  size.      

 Material  Background    

• How  is  the  material  made?  Bamboo  is  a  perennial  evergreen  plant  that  grows  naturally  in  the  earth.    From  there,  it  can  be  altered  to  improve  its  appearance  if  desired.      

• What  are  its  components?  Where  do  they  come  from?  Bamboo  can  be  found  scattered  all  over  the  world,  however  native  bamboo  is  not  known  to  be  found  on  the  continent  of  Europe.    In  it  raw  state,  bamboo  is  a  plant  that  resembles  a  small  tree,  in  how  it  has  a  trunk  with  leaf  type  growth  on  top.      

• What  is  the  process  to  make  the  material?  The  process  to  get  bamboo  construction  ready  is  rather  arduous.    Step  1  is  selection  and  harvest.    This  step  consists  of  selecting  bamboo  4-­‐6  years  old  about  1400m  above  sea  level.    These  properties  suggest  the  strongest,  most  construction  ready  bamboo.    Step  2  is  perforating  and  dimensioning.    This  step  consists  of  cutting  the  bamboo  to  its  required  size  and  perforating  the  nodes.    After  this,  a  steel  rod  with  a  drill  bit  tip  is  used  to  penetrate  the  bamboo  rod  so  the  chemicals  on  the  inside  can  interact  with  the  fibers  on  the  outside.    This  is  necessary  because  bamboo  has  a  natural  water  repellant  outer  layer.    Step  3  is  washing.    During  this  process,  the  bamboo  poles  are  cleaned  of  all  mosses  and  surface  stains.    In  addition,  every  node  is  hand  washed  with  a  brush.  Step  4  is  preparing  chemicals.    This  step  consists  of  using  a  non-­‐toxic  boron  solution  on  the  bamboo  poles  to  help  increase  its  durability.    Step  5  is  preservation.    During  this  process,  the  poles  are  soaked  in  a  heated  9m-­‐tank  use  to  immunize  the  bamboo.      Step  6  is  sun  bleaching.    During  this  process,  the  bamboo  poles  are  bleached  in  open  air  for  up  to  2  weeks.    This  guarantees  

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their  beige  color,  which  is  more  common  in  construction,  and  easier  to  paint  or  stain  if  necessary.    Step  7  is  solar  drying.    This  process  consists  of  drying  the  previously  soaked  bamboo  poles  in  a  specially  manufactured  solar  kiln  which  helps  reduce  the  humidity  in  the  bamboo  to  its  required  percentage  of  around  13%.    Step  8  is  color-­‐coding  and  quality  control.    By  this  step,  the  bamboo  is  ready  to  be  used  and  cleared  of  all  tests  of  cracks  and  bends.    The  color-­‐coding  is  to  decipher  each  one  by  its  diameter  to  stay  more  organized  (guadua  bamboo  1-­‐8).    

• What  are  the  byproducts  of  this  process?  The  only  byproduct  of  this  process  is  the  residue  from  step  4  previously  stated  is  later  used  as  fertilizer.      

• Does  the  material  have  any  historical  or  cultural  significance?    Bamboo  does  have  cultural  significance.    It  is  very  common  and  popular  in  countries  of  Asia  and  those  surrounding.    Bamboo  is  complete  diet  of  the  Giant  Panda,  which  to  many  can  be  considered  to  unofficial  animal  of  China.      

 Environmental  Impact  

• Expected  life  expectancy:  Properly  treated  and  harvested  bamboo  has  the  average  life  expectancy  of  30  years.      

• Recycling/biodegradability  opportunities:  Bamboo  can  be  recycled  and  manufactured  into  new  things  such  as  IPhone  cases,  shopping  bags,  and  boxes  for  other  uses.      

                                               

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Images:                    

                    Flat  bamboo  panels         Bamboo  columns,  beams,  and  roof                 panels              

     Flat  bamboo  panels  glued  together                     Bamboo  chair    

                                           

  Bamboo  Pavilion                      Bamboo  Bridge        

 

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Works  Cited    

"Guadua Bamboo Experts in the World's Strongest Bamboo!" Guadua Bamboo. Ed. Stephane Schroder. N.p., 2007. Web. 24 Mar. 2014  "Natural Bamboo Fencing." Bamboo Fencing Natural. Island Thatch, INC, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2014.