Bamboo Building
Design to Construction A-Z
by Bamboo Joj
Harvesting & Treatment
Once our Bamboo Structure had been designed, we made approximate quantity analyses to begin Harvest & Treatment, in the preparation stages of Construction.
For this Project we utilised some imported species, but mostly harvested ourselves by locally cutting culms from the Island and treating them at our own workshop. Reducing the carbon output with a localised supply chain.
Below is a brief overview of these Processes.
Bamboo Harvesting
This video briefly outlines how we physically harvest Bamboo. We should always try to protect the remaining roots for future re-growth and long term sustainability. Harvest methods vary hugely per species and are dependant on:
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Formation in which they grow (Running or Clumping species)
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Density
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Height
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No. of branches (this effects how easy it is to harvest individual culms).
Culms should be harvested when their starch content is at its lowest in order to reduce insect induced degradation.
Species
There are 139 known genera (families) of bamboo and within them over 1800 known species.
It's important that we understand the general properties of the species we are using to make sure they are structurally appropriate.
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For our project we utilised 3 main Bamboo species that all belong to the Giagantocloa genera, native to Southeast Asia.
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In the finishing stages we harvested some additional local species for non-structural elements, the staircase and supplementary roof rafters
Bamboo Treatment
Bamboo Treatment
Open Tank Boron Soak Method
Pre-treatment is a critical part of the construction process to ensure our building will stand the test of time.
Primarily, we are trying to protect our Culms from insects that will burrow into and degrade their structural integrity.
Treatments Include:
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Clump Curing
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Smoking
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Traditional Soaking
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Boiling
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Chemical Treatments
For our project we used the Open Tank Boron Soak Method.
This method additionally adds some fire retardancy. All of our main structural elements were soaked in Boron and dried out over a 2 week period. This is an important stage of design that needs to be anticipated in programming.
