Bamboo Connected

Abstract

Bamboo has been used as a construction material since ancient times in tropical and subtropical parts of the world, because of the fastgrowing process, low cost and compressive, tensile and bending strength, that allow to create a lightweight and earthquake resistant structures. After 3 to 5 years bamboo is ready to harvest, and one clump of bamboo will provide poles of timber for a lifetime. Despite this, in the last century, bamboo has been out of spotlight in the architecture field and downgraded to scaffolding, decorative material and temporary housing. This is because bamboo is not a standardize material: its size, mechanical proprieties and construction system are not constant; moreover, if not treated, bamboo can rot to dust after less than two years. In Ecuador, bamboo is accessible in many regions. Although one of the strongest types of bamboo grows in this country, most of the construction is made of concrete regardless the context. Considering the earthquake that happened in 2016, which left most of the coastal towns destroyed and thousands of homeless people, bamboo has a great potential for re-urbanizing a site affordable and safely. By treating the bamboo properly, designing its structural system carefully, therefore developing proper connections, a bamboo construction will last, thus bamboo’s full potential can be showed, increasing its use as a structural element. Two simplified connections for bamboo structures were designed in this project with the aim to develop a system that facilities the construction of bamboo houses and therefore increase use of bamboo as a structural element.