New design guide is a significant milestone in realising the benefits of bamboo to widen its adoption.

Comprehensive guidance about the design of permanent bamboo structures has been published by the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE).

The detailed design manual draws on the expertise of four international authors from academia and industry. They are all members of the INBAR Bamboo Construction Task Force (BCTF), one of the leading international bodies on the structural uses of bamboo:

• Dr David Trujillo CEng, Assistant Professor in Humanitarian Engineering, School of Engineering at the University of Warwick;
• Kent Harries PEng, Professor of Structural Engineering and Mechanics, University of Pittsburgh;
• Sebastian Kaminski CEng, an IStructE Fellow and a structural engineer from consulting firm Arup;
• and Engr. Luis Felipe Lopez CEng, General Manager of the Base Bahay Foundation Inc. (BASE), which is a guide sponsor with the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR).

Manual for the design of bamboo structures to ISO 22156:2021 aims to help structural engineers and other architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) professionals understand how this prolific bio-based material can be used safely, with the ISO standard and the manual limited to two-storeys because of fire concerns.

Lead author Dr David Trujillio says: “This manual marks a significant milestone for the safe use of bamboo for permanent structures. Most structural design codes are developed in higher-income countries to address their own needs. Only later are they adopted or adapted by lower and middle-income countries – but the starting point is never the needs of those regions.

Professor Kent Harries adds: “There are some 1,600 known species of bamboo. Structurally, it has remarkable mechanical properties. It has also become a very promising bio-based resource, with growing credentials as a sustainable construction material. Nonetheless, this is hugely dependent on designing and building safe and durable structures. Our detailed manual helps to achieve this.”

Sebastian Kaminski explains: “Bamboo has great potential to contribute to a low-carbon construction sector. Bamboo engineering is a very young field compared to mainstream materials and its unique possibilities are increasingly recognised and supported by growing research and innovation. Our manual is structured to support the design engineer along the journey, from sourcing bamboo to detailed design.”

Luis Felipe Lopez highlights: “The construction industry contributes nearly 40% of carbon emissions globally, and bamboo, a regenerative and durable material, is redefining how we build our structures. From being an alternative to a reliable building material, bamboo is now gaining global recognition, and the need for a comprehensive framework is essential to support design engineers and ensure the safe and proper use of bamboo in the built environment, maximising its full potential and environmental advantages.

Kewei Liu, Coordinator of the INBAR Global Bamboo Construction Programme, mentions: “The publication of this guide is of great significance in promoting the application of the current ISO 22156:2021 standard, which has been the most widely accepted international bamboo standard since the 2000s. The authors have made a remarkable contribution to the global use of bamboo construction.”

Bamboo is native to all continents apart from Antarctica and Europe, although numerous species successfully thrive across Europe. Its lifecycle makes it an attractive resource in the context of tackling the global climate emergency, as like trees it fixes carbon in its leaves, stem, roots and surrounding soil. Bamboo’s harvest does not disturb the stored carbon in the soil.

Alongside the four leading authors, the manual was also reviewed by eleven expert reviewers. It has ten chapters covering a wide range of topics including the bamboo supply chain; bamboo project management; grading and mechanical characteristics of bamboo; analysis of bamboo structures; seismic and wind hazard design using bamboo; element and connection design; durability; bamboo structural shear walls; and worked examples of bamboo’s structural use in real-life examples.

Dr David Trujillo concludes: “The guide is published in the wake of the tragic Hong Kong tower block fires. We share condolences for all those impacted, and await the outcome of investigations as we cannot comment on individual cases. However general risk management principles advocate a risk assessment and consideration of use of flame-retardant materials on high rise and closely spaced buildings, along with fire detection and suppression.

“Importantly, and given the wide use of bamboo, this guide sets out provisions for its safe use, including for fire, covering permanent buildings and not scaffolding. Our aim is for this to be a must-use resource for the structural engineer already working with bamboo or considering its use. We also hope it will be a trusted resource for colleagues across the built environment globally, whether in industry or academia.”

Base Bahay Foundation, Inc. (BASE), a global leader in bamboo construction, and the Local Government of Quezon, Isabela, inaugurated today the first government-owned bamboo treatment facility in the country and the first in Northern Luzon.  This facility, located in Quezon, Isabela, represents a major step forward as the second such facility in Luzon and the eighth nationwide, highlighting the growing national interest in bamboo as a primary building material for socialized housing. 

This landmark partnership, includes not only the treatment facility but also a model house and a prefabrication warehouse, demonstrating a holistic approach to sustainable development and community empowerment.

The facility, constructed in only 5 months will serve as a vital hub for bamboo treatment, processing, and production, catering to Region 2 and beyond.  It will create sustainable livelihood for local farmers, with significant annual growth expected as it fuels the region’s bamboo industry.  This initiative directly supports local farmers by establishing a robust value chain, and fostering worker skills through technical training.

Construction is underway on the single-story duplex model unit initiated by BASE.  This housing unit will be the first installation of the facility’s treated bamboo poles, utilizing BASE’s innovative Cement-Bamboo Frame Technology (CBTF).  CBTF offers not only affordability (at least 20% less expensive than conventional materials) but also exceptional resilience.  Rigorously tested, CBFT homes can withstand Category 5 typhoons (up to 250 kmph), resist earthquakes of magnitude 8.4 (meeting NSCP 2015 seismic requirements), and have a fire rating of up to 120 minutes as required by the National Building Code of the Philippines (NSCP).  Furthermore, the technology provides excellent thermal comfort, leading to savings on electricity, freeing up household budgets for other essentials.  

A nearby duplex model house will showcase the practicality and durability of CBFT, while a prefabrication warehouse will expand the facility’s product offerings beyond treated bamboo poles, further strengthening its contribution to the local economy.  The rapid construction time of CBFT homes (six weeks from panel installation to house completion) adds another layer of efficiency to this innovative approach. 

Says Hon. Jimmy Gamazon, Jr., Municipal Mayor of Quezon, Isabela: “Our partnership with BASE for the treatment facility we unveil today represents our commitment to a sustainable and prosperous future for Quezon.  By investing in resilient housing and empowering our local workforce, we are building a thriving community for generations to come.”

“This facility represents a paradigm shift in sustainable construction,” said Engr. Luis Felipe Lopez, BASE General Manager. “We’re not just building with bamboo; we’re building a better future.  Here in Quezon, we’re creating a value chain that empowers communities, provides skills development, and delivers high-quality, sustainable building materials.  We’re thrilled to partner with the Quezon LGU on a housing project that will showcase the potential of this facility.”

BASE continuously collaborates with local and international institutions to optimize the use of bamboo in a built environment. This shows the strong commitment of BASE to sustainable housing and continuous innovation, positioning itself as a leading global research hub in bamboo construction.

“Through strategic partnerships, BASE is at the forefront of transforming the construction industry,” he explains.  “Our CBFT technology, accredited by the National Housing Authority’s AITECH program, underscores our commitment to eco-friendly solutions.”

He noted that BASE has built 2,500 CBFT homes, sheltering over 10,000 individuals across the Philippines, Nepal, India, and Nicaragua, resulting in over 40,000 tCO2 savings. Beyond housing, CBFT’s versatility extends to non-residential structures like community centers, offices, and schools, demonstrating the vast potential of bamboo in modern construction.

Through the collaboration between Base Bahay Foundation Inc., and Vincentian Missionaries Social Development Foundation Inc., the community of Bagong Silangan in Quezon City has welcomed a social enterprise center that showcases not only economic empowerment but also alternative building technologies.

Called the Vincentian Social Enterprise Center, this 71-sqm innovative bamboo-based facility is Base Bahay’s second special Cement-Bamboo Frame Technology (CBFT) structure that will open doors for more job and livelihood opportunities for the local community.

The structure, with eight (8) stalls, each with roughly 8.41 sqm floor area, is a blueprint for sustainable architecture, highlighting the potential of bamboo structures to seamlessly integrate within urban landscapes.

The center’s distinctive design features a long gable roof, supported by wing-like diagonal struts that extend from the studs to the roof frames, blending aesthetics and functionality.

“By building this center, we want community members to be empowered enough to provide food on the table for their families while showcasing how CBFT serves as a holistic solution for the global housing gap, climate change, and socio-economic challenges faced by our country,” said BASE President and Hilti Foundation Asia Liaison Maricen Jalandoni.

“We are building more than just durable homes. We are also fostering hope within the communities we support. We aspire to help families sustainably. Through our collaborations, we are empowering them to attain economic independence,” Maricen added.

BASE, a non-profit organization initiated by the Hilti Foundation, provides alternative building technologies that enable a network of partners to build comfortable, affordable, disaster-resilient, and environment-friendly structures with social impact.

To date, BASE has built over 1,200 homes in 15 communities in the Philippines, over 400 homes in four (4) communities in Nepal, and two (2) model houses in India. It also has six (6) bamboo supply facilities across the country and another in Mindanao that is currently in the construction phase.

The Center is part of a larger program by BASE to construct bamboo structures within the community in Quezon City, complementing the existing 50 housing units and the recently completed community center serving as a post-harvest facility.

Part of these initiatives is the Planting for Productivity Project (P4P), a collaborative effort involving BASE, Hilti Foundation, Ayala Foundation Inc., and the Quezon City Government, to build a more food-secure future for households and communities through urban farming.

The P4P is strategically divided into two phases—AgriKaya, which focuses on empowering households through home-based farming, promoting self-sufficiency and healthy eating habits, and AgriKita, which aims to spur urban farming and entrepreneurship to offer livelihood opportunities to households.

These undertakings can provide a big boost to marginalized communities, especially in the face of minimum wages falling short for families of five to meet basic needs. Studies have shown the significance of urban farms in providing families with a steady and practical supply of nutritious food.

“We are grateful for this partnership with BASE as this gives more meaning to efforts of pushing the boundaries of traditional construction. It also proves that when organizations collaborate, we can do more to empower communities and foster self-sufficiency, creating a ripple effect of positive change,” said Fr. Mario Castillo, Vincentian Foundation Executive Director.

On July 1, 2024, Engr. Luis Felipe Lopez took over as the new General Manager of Base Bahay (BASE) succeeding Dr. Pablo Jorillo, who transitioned to a Senior Consultancy role with the foundation.  Under Dr. Jorillo’s leadership, BASE has achieved numerous milestones, laying the groundwork for Base’s Vision in bamboo and sustainable construction.

BASE was initiated by the Hilti Foundation to provide alternative building technologies using locally grown and renewable materials to create housing envelopes and designs suited to the needs of local communities.  Already, Base has enabled a network of partners to build quality socialized homes for over 10,500 individuals that are sustainable, disaster-resilient, and comfortable using BASE’s Cement-Bamboo Frame Technology while providing livelihood to countless more. 

A native of Colombia and a Civil Engineer who graduated from the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (2000), Luis moved to the Philippines in 2014 to take on the role of BASE’s Head of Product Development for Bamboo Housing. Previous to his appointment with BASE, he had worked with the Hilti Foundation as a consultant in 2012 and 2013.  His role transitioned to Head of Technology and Director of the Base Innovation Center (BIC) where research, training, and application of BASE’s Cement-Bamboo Frame Technology in the Philippines continues.

Today, Luis has been instrumental in efforts to promote the creation of our own National Structural Code for Bamboo together with the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP.   At the Base Innovation Center in Makati which he manages, BASE continues to conduct research and leverage technology to innovate and bring Bamboo into mainstream construction as a sustainable and reliable building material.  

He is one of the authors of the Colombian Bamboo Structural Design Code NSR-10 and collaborated actively in the development of the Peruvian and Ecuadorian bamboo Codes as well. Currently, He is part of the ISO Committee TC 165 (Timber and bamboo structures) representing Colombia, where he worked keenly on the update of the ISO 22156 “Bamboo structural design” standard, published in June 2021. He is also the newly appointed Co-Chair for the National Structural Code of the Philippines (NSCP) 8^th Edition, 2022 – Chapter 8 Bamboo Volume I.

“For 10 years, we have witnessed the growth of BASE from building houses to different structures. We have seen how our network of partners has grown to one where we collaborate with different organizations around the world. From a bamboo research and testing center, the Base Innovation Center has transitioned to an internationally accredited laboratory and is now a global leader in bamboo construction,” says Luis.

“With our dedicated team and strong partners, we at BASE will continue to work toward our shared vision of becoming a leading competent global center and scale up bamboo construction to provide underserved families with a safe place to live in.”

This transition marks a new chapter for BASE as the foundation continues to innovate, enable, and build stronger communities in the Philippines and beyond.

28 July 2024, Manila. Base Bahay Foundation, Inc. (BASE), the global leader in Bamboo Construction, marks its 10th year of building resilient bamboo infrastructure for the Philippines and beyond. Central to the BASE milestone celebration is a pledge to use its anniversary resources to build more comfortable, affordable, disaster-resilient, and environment-friendly homes for underserved families – a gesture that supports the organization’s goal at its founding by the HILTI Foundation in July 2014 to help address the growing housing gap and reduce the effect of climate change by using local and sustainable materials.

“Together over the last decade, BASE and the Hilti Foundation have worked to elevate the living standards of every family in the community and enable them to have a sustainable future,” says Maricen Jalandoni, BASE President and Hilti Foundation Asia Liaison. “We can think of no better way to celebrate than to bring sustainable shelter to more families.”

Adds Engr. Luis Felipe Lopez, BASE General Manager: “The 2023 UN-Habitat PH Country Report estimates that the Philippines will be saddled with a 22-million housing backlog by 2040. Together with our network of partners, we are putting our BASE Cement-Bamboo Framework to scale as a holistic solution to the global housing gap, climate change, and socioeconomic challenges.”

“Central to our short-term goals is our work to include Bamboo in the National Structural Code for construction that will then allow us to leverage the abundance of bamboo across the country to build more sustainable, resilient, and affordable housing solutions.”

Across the BASE organization, three key pillars define the work: BASE Innovates where as a leading global authority, BASE works with top local and international universities to develop alternative building technologies and design innovations; BASE Builds under which sustainable, resilient, and affordable solutions are developed to address the global housing crisis while also providing an inclusive better future for all; and BASE Enables which pertain to the building of a robust ecosystem for scalable housing solutions that in turn creates a network of bamboo enterprises that drive industry growth and impact.

BASE Innovates

When the BASE Innovation Center in Makati City was inaugurated in 2021 it paved the way for more international and local research collaboration. Today, as a global competence center, over 5,000 tests run at the Base Innovation Center have provided important data to the publication of over 20 papers in scientific journals and the work BASE continues to carry out in partnership with seven (7) local universities and nine (9) international academic institutions. This has resulted in BASE’s accreditation with RILEM (Réunion Internationale des Laboratoires et Experts des Matériaux, systèmes de construction et ouvrages) this year. RILEM is a global network of laboratories and experts in construction materials, systems, and structures.

The testing and research at the Base Innovation Center also provide critical information that supports ongoing efforts together with the Association of Structural Engineers of the Philippines (ASEP) to include bamboo in the National Structural Code of the Philippines (NSCP). With these results, BASE also supports the development of bamboo codes in Nepal and the latest revision of bamboo codes in Colombia.

BASE Enables

The organization’s education outreach in sustainable construction will continue to be key to achieving BASE’s goals. Through the organization’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program under the Bamboo Academy, professional architects and civil engineers earn CPD units that they need for their continued development. To date, Base has conducted 15 online and in-person CPD Programs and trained over 2,000 workers and professional builders.

Just last June, BASE hosted a third in a series of annual bamboo conferences termed “Bamboost” Forum themed Beyond Bamboo: Bridging Green Construction in Codes and Standards”. Bamboost III was a leveled-up event that brought together local and international bamboo experts and partners in sustainable construction who shared their expertise to educate, motivate, and inspire professional builders and bamboo enthusiasts.

Enabling ongoing builds and providing livelihood to communities are six (6) bamboo supply and treatment partners across the Philippines with two more facilities scheduled for completion within the year. Last year, Base established a Quality Management System to improve the services these partners provide and ensure that they meet clients’ needs and demands.

BASE Builds

Supported by all these initiatives, BASE and their partners have built over 2,300 homes in over 20 communities across the Philippines, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, and Nicaragua, sheltering around 10,500 individuals. In 2019, BASE started the Negros Occidental Impact 2025 in partnership with Habitat for Humanity Philippines, which is its biggest housing project to date.

Beyond housing, BASE has built 14 special structures, which include a children’s home, an office, a weaving center, community centers, and school buildings which are accredited by the Department of Education (DepEd).

In 2023, Base Bahay started the integration of Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies (EDGE) green building certification on its projects. EDGE is a green building certification system and a sustainability platform developed by the International Finance Corporation. This certification program encourages property developers to design and construct more energy and water-efficient buildings using sustainable materials. It also aims to reduce buildings’ carbon footprint and promote resource conservation. Currently, BASE has five EDGE-certified experts.

When it comes to the organization’s environmental impact, BASE has an average of 35,000 tCO2 savings from the houses built using Cement-Bamboo Frame Technology (CBFT).