Summary Draft 2 (Building with Bamboo)

In the article, “An Architect’s Guide to Building with Bamboo'', Vadot(n.d.), elaborates on how bamboo is an alternative material in the construction industry. He mentions that bamboo is a dependable, long-lasting, lightweight, and affordable material, which has the capability to grow quickly with minimal preservation. He states that the bottom part of the bamboo is suitable for scaffolding and civil works construction whereas the top part is suitable for accessorial parts such as ceilings. However, he notes the variety in growth environments leads to the agriculture of different strands of bamboo, which resulted in not being listed in the civil building code, unlike wood. Additionally, bamboo is a brittle material which requires treatment and protection from natural conditions. It is prone to rotting as the nutrients in it consists of sugar, hence attracting micro-organisms. He showed an example on how bamboo is adopt in Columbia for the usage in construction.

Although this article explains its advantages and disadvantages of using bamboo as a construction material, it does not give an in depth elaboration on its challengers in the industry. Hence, it would be difficult for other countries to standardize bamboo as a construction material.

Reference:

C. Vadot, (n.d). An Architect's Guide to Building with Bamboo.