Innovative Bamboo

3 units

In this seminar we will explore bamboo as a sustainable material for innovative structures. Bamboo is a natural composite with high tensile and compression strength and grows in a cylindrical form that is optimal for carrying longitudinal forces. Furthermore, it is fast growing, sequesters more carbon than timber, produces more oxygen than a boreal forest, and even absorbs heavy metals from soil. Students will look at historic and contemporary precedence of bamboo as engineered products and as structural construction using simple poles. We will play with ways to connect, assemble, and build with this natural material. Finally, we will build large-scale models and prototypes of structural designs. The goal is to explore the wide range of design and engineering potential of this natural, often overlooked, structural grass.