BAMBOO & THE BLUE ECONOMY

Principals & Case studies CRU! Architects – Tomorrowbrands 2015

ARCHITECTURE OF THE FUTURE

Before going to BlueWhat’s wrong with Green?

• Energy = ecology?

• Is passive building dangerous and a-social? • New buildings > 30km from work? PUR isolation = unhealthy ?

• Conventional materials and technologies; contributing to energy saving and ecology in the 21st Century?

GreenExpensiveSubsidizedTaxesCut costsShortage of resources

• Clean globalized => not related to local identity-architecture

GreenExpensiveSubsidizedTaxesCut costsShortage of resources

BlueInnovativeCompetitiveJobsMore ValueAbondance of physical resourcesLearning from nature’s principals

Blue in architecture:systems design (Luigi Bistagnino)7 streams: Human, Matter, Air, Energy, Light, Water, Sound

Less bad is no good

The starbucks example: problem becomes multiple solutions

Follow nature’s example and realise waste’s potentialMultiple BenefitsMultiple Income Streams

• BlueInnovativeCompetitiveJobsMore Value

Vortex; fishing, cooling, puriyfingLearning from nature: biomimicry

Biomimicry in architecture

Expo Hannover 2000

BAMBOO = STEEL OF THE FUTURE

FOR ARCHITECTURE OF THE FUTURE

Simon Vélez

John Hardy

Vo Trong Nghia

FULL CYCLE3 - 5 x CO2 (biomass)

Re- vs De-forestation

O2+H2O

Erosion

Sanitation Desertification

Durable economy

- North - South- End of life (eg charcoal)- Nothing goes to waste (eg biomass)- No natural enemies in Europe

Bamboo as building material

7x strength equal strength

4 years 15-30 years 1 ton steel=2 ton C0²

Community Centrewith class rooms, library, venue, kitchen and toilets

2004 Bamboostic projectGenerating a (blue) economy through building with bamboo

Used techniquesbamboo, taipa, adobe bricks, green roof, plastic bottle walls,..

B²-POD TAIWAN

conceptBox-in a box-in a box: no air transport on a ship

Small protected volume – large free living

Foldable design – no assembly-disassembly (skilled labour+time= cost>)

Mechanic- no electric folding = art of the bamboomaster (secret box)

Early adapters : luxurious for thinkers or frequent travelers in need of a home – no urban rules because of glorified caravans: a house like a magic box

Termite ventilation by Anders Nyquist = also biomimicry + windtowers Persia

Zebra Colors:black and white bamboo exterior

Energy: thin film + solarus + water battery

Double roof principle from vernacular-adjustable to height and windspeed: learning from and using of vernac! Telescopic arms with wheels

Levande filters

Whalepowerfan

Orientation and postion: wet areas last in winddirection

Glue laminated panels = mussel/clam – no volatiles/formaldehyde

Upscaling to community maker

Even post-disaster: assembly/disassembly possible in later stage (non-luxurious) – also possible = only shipping joints, bamboo and tools: self help with manual (a pattern language)

Why isn´t bamboo used in Europe

• Lack of knowledge, trust and good examplesimage of poor man´s timber – technical solutions not very known

• Lack of good construction codesSince 2003 international iso-norms for mecanical properties

• Lack of dimensional stability – variable materialRequires originality of the designer, letting go of fixed designmethods and knowledge of common connection techniques

Example in Ghent

Example being build in Kemzeke

Other examples

Houses for expats running a bamboo plantation in Congo

Elements to consider building in tropics.

Design principles

A mosque in bamboo and rammed earth in Morocco

City farming in a former gastower in Ghent - Tondeliersite