Made from a series of bamboo arches spanning 19 metres, the Arc at the Green School in Bali is heralded as one of the most significant structures ever made from bamboo.
Designed by architecture studio Ibuku and using approximately 12.4 tonnes of Dendrocalamus Asper, also known as Rough Bamboo or Giant Bamboo, the lightweight structure was finished in April 2021.
Such an eye-catching building shows the strength and versatility of bamboo. Add to that bamboo’s green credentials and it would seem like an excellent material to help the construction industry cut its carbon footprint.
Like trees, bamboo plants sequester carbon as they grow and can act as carbon sinks, storing more carbon than many tree species.
A plantation of bamboo can store 401 tonnes of carbon per hectare (per 2.5 acres). By contrast, a plantation of Chinese fir trees can store 237 tonnes of carbon per hectare, according to a report by the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR) and Delft University of Technology, in the Netherlands.
It is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet – some varieties grow as quickly as one metre per day.
Plus, bamboo is a grass, so when the stem is harvested it grows back, unlike most trees.
It has a long history of use in construction in Asia, but in Europe and the US it remains a niche building material.
In those markets, bamboo treated with heat and chemicals is becoming more common for flooring, kitchen tops and chopping boards, but is rarely used as a structural material.
Post time: Jan-16-2024