kittenaugogo
24th November 2005, 07:43 PM
recently, as mentioned on other posts,(See - Bent bamboo furniture (http://www.bamboocraft.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1646)), i took part in a design/build sculpture project that had to take into consideration envirnmantal impacts and sustainability. my group built our peice out of bamboo, jute cord, and manilla fibre rope. heres what we found about bamboo.
other than it being great, easy, and verstile to work with!
1:1 Music Room design build project
..Team Cron.Inc ..
For our project we explored the possibilities of using large timber sections, laminated plywood, bamboo, or bent steel or aluminium section for the frame. In comparisons of weight, look, sustainability, availability and ease of construction, we narrowed this down to bamboo, as it is socially sustainable, as well as environmentally sustainable. While considered a weed in many parts of Australia, it is a vital industry in China, and South-East Asia, where it has been used as a building material for centuries.
To match this material we went for a pallete of other materials for joins and cladding. We could have used bolts, screws, wire ties and such-like and carpet, cloths and stuffing. However, the bamboo, led us to choose materials that were marine grade, natural, were old industries, and provided sustainable, and somewhat environmentally friendly, employment in developing nations. We also tried to highlight the environmental possibilities of these materials and to explore the acoustic properties of them.
Bamboo
Bamboo is lightweight, strong, reasonably durable, able to withstand tempreture differences. It is also able to be bent in a large variety of fashions to create interesting designs.
Bamboo comes in up to 1500 species, so a bamboo variety for your use can be found easily. Bamboo is the most diverse group of plants in the grass family.
It is distinguished by a woody culm, complex branching, a generally robust rhizome system and infrequent flowering. It has a tropical and subtropical (cosmopolitan) distribution, ranging from 46 N to 47S latitude, reaching elevations as high as 4,000 m in the Himalayas and parts of China. Bamboo is very adaptable, with some species being deciduous and others evergreen. Bamboos are giant, woody grasses which put out several full length, full diameter, naturally pre-finished, ready-to-use culms ("stems") each year. A single bamboo clump can produce up to 15 kilometres of usable pole (up to 30 cm in diameter) in its lifetime. A sixty foot tree cut for market takes 60 years to replace. A sixty foot bamboo cut for market takes 59 days to replace. (Source: INBAR, 15.10.05)
Bamboo provides the materials for building projects, furniture, household items, landscaping, boats, and paper. Bamboo is also used to make musical instruments. Apart from these uses, bamboo has many applications as a substitute for timber.
Bamboo's has the potential for checking soil erosion. It is equally important for providing fast vegetative cover to deforested areas. Millions of people depend on this plant for their livelihood.
other than it being great, easy, and verstile to work with!
1:1 Music Room design build project
..Team Cron.Inc ..
For our project we explored the possibilities of using large timber sections, laminated plywood, bamboo, or bent steel or aluminium section for the frame. In comparisons of weight, look, sustainability, availability and ease of construction, we narrowed this down to bamboo, as it is socially sustainable, as well as environmentally sustainable. While considered a weed in many parts of Australia, it is a vital industry in China, and South-East Asia, where it has been used as a building material for centuries.
To match this material we went for a pallete of other materials for joins and cladding. We could have used bolts, screws, wire ties and such-like and carpet, cloths and stuffing. However, the bamboo, led us to choose materials that were marine grade, natural, were old industries, and provided sustainable, and somewhat environmentally friendly, employment in developing nations. We also tried to highlight the environmental possibilities of these materials and to explore the acoustic properties of them.
Bamboo
Bamboo is lightweight, strong, reasonably durable, able to withstand tempreture differences. It is also able to be bent in a large variety of fashions to create interesting designs.
Bamboo comes in up to 1500 species, so a bamboo variety for your use can be found easily. Bamboo is the most diverse group of plants in the grass family.
It is distinguished by a woody culm, complex branching, a generally robust rhizome system and infrequent flowering. It has a tropical and subtropical (cosmopolitan) distribution, ranging from 46 N to 47S latitude, reaching elevations as high as 4,000 m in the Himalayas and parts of China. Bamboo is very adaptable, with some species being deciduous and others evergreen. Bamboos are giant, woody grasses which put out several full length, full diameter, naturally pre-finished, ready-to-use culms ("stems") each year. A single bamboo clump can produce up to 15 kilometres of usable pole (up to 30 cm in diameter) in its lifetime. A sixty foot tree cut for market takes 60 years to replace. A sixty foot bamboo cut for market takes 59 days to replace. (Source: INBAR, 15.10.05)
Bamboo provides the materials for building projects, furniture, household items, landscaping, boats, and paper. Bamboo is also used to make musical instruments. Apart from these uses, bamboo has many applications as a substitute for timber.
Bamboo's has the potential for checking soil erosion. It is equally important for providing fast vegetative cover to deforested areas. Millions of people depend on this plant for their livelihood.