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Bamboo Construction Manual For Single-Story Housing

Authors

Base Bahay Foundation, Inc.

International Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) Organization

Overview

This manual provides a detailed guide of how to construct a single-story bamboo house using a Composite Bamboo Shear Wall (CBSW) system. The CBSW system is an innovative construction method that integrates full bamboo culms with modern connection techniques and is protected with exterior plastering material. This guide outlines a step-by-step process, from the production of treated and structurally graded bamboo culms and the prefabrication of CBSW components to the prefabrication of roof trusses, ensuring high quality control. Site preparation and foundation work can be conducted in parallel, streamlining the process and allowing for rapid installation of structural systems on-site. The subsequent chapters provide a guide to the roofing, plastering, and finishing.

In addition, this guideline details best practices, common pitfalls, and key considerations when seeking to effectively use structurally graded bamboo in housing construction. Note that this manual is specific to single-story housing and does not cover other types of structures.

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Design, Build and Preservation: An Innovative Bamboo Treatment for Industrial Building Use

Authors

Dr. Jean-Luc Kouyoumji

Dr. Eric Heisel

Luis Lopez

Abstract

Building with bio-sourced material is an emerging industry that can make a high contribution to the reduction of GHG emissions and help to unlock the low-carbon, circular economy. Bamboo is a very interesting bio-sourced material for construction. Since years, bamboo is demonstrating a very nice alternative to mineral materials. By maximising the use of bio-sourced in new built and renovation through optimal hybrid solutions with other materials, the built environment can be transformed into a large-scale carbon sink. However, unlocking the potential of bio-sourced as both a sustainable building material and climate solution (the ‘natural-carbon-pump’) requires a stronger focus on the bio-sourced construction chains and the whole innovation ecosystem.
First, we will talk about the building value chain for different products and building systems. Comparison will be made with wood industry using engineered wood products (EWP) for the latest developments of high-rise wooden buildings. Authors will show that building with innovative material such as bamboo and engineered bamboo products (EBP) is only a matter of regulations, engineering capacities and implementation methods.
Second, we will focus on bamboo treatment showing some relevant results coming from the Philippines. We will show case of an innovative bamboo treatment implemented at a country scale in the Philippines that is turning today international, with the Base Bahay Foundation of the Hilti Foundation. The project concerns building with bamboo quality socialized homes. Homes that are comfortable, affordable, disaster resilient, ecologically friendly, and with social impact.
Bamboo is known to be difficult to treat due to its high resistance to impregnation. Soaking – diffusion gives some efficiency for needed bamboo preservation rate, as well as for the intensive productivity rate. Alternative solution to the use of traditional treatment products for bamboo poles treatment was investigated and an innovative methodology was successfully implemented in 5 sites in the Philippines, supplying bamboo for housing projects. We will show how a treatment facility has to be designed for workers safety, for environment safety, for bamboo material efficiency, and for product quality control. The treatment procedure is composed of 15 necessary steps to be followed. BSInnovations is the body responsible of the invention, the installation and the technical validation of the treatment facility.

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Composite bamboo shear walls – A shear wall system for affordable and sustainable housing in tropical developing countries

Authors

Sebastian Kaminski

Luis Felipe López

David J A Trujillo

Edwin Zea Escamilla

Verónica Correa-Giraldo

Juan Correal-Daza

Abstract

Composite bamboo shear walls (CBSW) are modern engineered vernacular-improved shear walls, that take the traditional Latin American wattle-and-daub known as bahareque, and engineer it, using modern materials and construction techniques. CBSWs consist of a frame made of timber and/or large-diameter bamboo, upon which a matrix of cane, small-diameter bamboo, flattened bamboo, bamboo laths, or expanded steel mesh is nailed. The walls are then finished with cement or lime render to form solid shear walls. Over the past 30 years, at least 4000 one and two-storey homes utilizing modern CBSWs have successfully been constructed in various countries around the world, including Costa Rica, Colombia, Nepal, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, El Salvador, and the Philippines. When properly designed and built, they have demonstrated their effectiveness as an affordable, hazard-resilient, low-carbon, and durable form of housing. The system is now codified in the Colombian, Ecuadorian, and Peruvian structural standards, as well as in ISO 22156. Efforts are currently underway to incorporate them into the Philippines, Mexican, and Nepalese codes. This paper describes the history of the CBSW system, variations that exist across the world, the current state of knowledge with regard to codes, strength, ductility, sustainability, and fire, and recommendations for areas of future research. The paper argues that the CBSW system is an effective way of creating low-carbon housing that provides excellent code-compliant strength, ductility, and durability, and has significant potential for affordable housing in lower and middle-income highly seismic countries where bamboo grows.

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Bridging Housing and Climate Needs: Bamboo Construction in the Philippines

Authors

Timo Bundi

Luis Felipe Lopez

Guillaume Habert

Edwin Zea Escamilla

Abstract

The Philippines faces a significant shortage of affordable housing, and with the growing
urgency brought by climate change, there is a pressing need for more sustainable and affordable
building solutions. One promising option is cement bamboo frame buildings, which blend traditional
bamboo building methods with modern materials. This approach is already being implemented
in social housing projects in the Philippines. Dynamic lifecycle assessment (DLCA) calculations
show that these bamboo buildings can effectively reduce overall CO2 emissions. Before a building’s
end of life, biogenic effects offset approximately 43% of its total production emissions, while the
temporary carbon storage afforded by these biogenic materials further reduces total emissions by
14%. In comparison to concrete brick buildings, bamboo constructions reduce emissions by 70%.
Transforming an unmanaged bamboo plantation into a managed plantation can potentially triple
the capacity for long-term CO2 storage in biogenic materials and further reduce net emissions by
replacing concrete with bamboo as the main construction material. Thus, bamboo construction offers
a potent, economically viable carbon-offsetting strategy for social housing projects.

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Experimental Study on the Dowel-Bearing Strength of Bambusa blumeana Bamboo Used for SustainableHousing Construction

Authors

Cres Dan O. Bangoy, Jr.

Jedelle Y. Falcon

Hannah Amyrose F. Lorenzo

Steven Royce A. Zeng

Lessandro Estelito O. Garciano

Carlo Joseph D. Cacanando

Abstract

This study addresses the critical issue of dowel-bearing strength in Bambusa blumeana,
a key sustainable construction material crucial for climate change mitigation. Given the lack of
bamboo connection standards, this research focuses on determining the dowel-bearing strength of
Bambusa blumeana, emphasizes factors such as dowel diameter, node placements, and the physical
properties of bamboo. A predictive equation is derived, enhancing the practicality of bamboo in
structural design. The results underscore a notable correlation between dowel diameter and characteristic strength, with implications for engineering practices. Node placements significantly affect
dowel-bearing capacity, while bamboo’s physical attributes, including thickness, culm diameter, and
moisture content, exhibit modest correlations with strength. The derived equation aims to assist
in structural design, mitigating splitting and bearing failures in bamboo structures. This research
establishes a foundation for optimizing the use of Bambusa blumeana in sustainable construction,
advancing the understanding of its dowel-bearing strength for improved sustainability and resilience
in the construction industry. Future research suggestions include exploring bamboo–mortar composites, additional node placements, and employing more comprehensive empirical equations and
curve-fitting techniques. The study advocates for further investigations with more diverse and
larger bamboo samples to bolster robustness. Additionally, delving into bamboo ductility may offer
valuable insights.

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Establishment of Characteristic Shear Strength Parallel to Fiber of Different Local Bamboo Species in the Philippines

Authors

Brian E. Bautista

Lessandro E.O. Garciano

Luis F. Lopez

Abstract

The adoption of bamboo as an alternative to traditional building materials in the Philippines is hampered due to its non-inclusion in the local structural code. Given the inherent variability in the mechanical properties of bamboo, determining its characteristic strength is crucial in the development of the local bamboo structural code. The literature on the characteristic strength of bamboo is also limited. In this study, the characteristic shear strength of several economically viable bamboo species in the Philippines was established based on 220 shear test results. Two factors led to the choice of this mechanical property: (1) Shear strength parallel to fiber exhibits the highest degree of variation among mechanical properties; and (2) Shear is one of the governing forces on joint connections, and these connections are the weak points in bamboo structures when exposed to extreme loading conditions. All tests were conducted in accordance with the ISO 22157-1 (2017) shear test protocol. ISO 12122-1 (2014) was used to calculate the characteristic shear strength. The results showed that Bambusa philippinensis has the highest characteristic shear strength value (7.26 MPa) followed by Dendrocalamus asper (6.98 MPa), Bambusa vulgaris (6.46 MPa), Bambusa blumeana (5.15 MPa), and Gigantochloa apus (5.11 MPa). A comparison of the shear strength values using One-way ANOVA also revealed statistically significant differences in shear strength among these bamboo species, highlighting the importance of bamboo species identification in the structural design process.

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