bamboo geodesic dome

[johnpaul]

Hi all,
i am in austin, texas and am new to this group. I have been obsessed for that last year or so with the idea of building a geodesic dome out of bamboo using no metal, plastic or wood. I finally did it!! If any of you would like to see it, I have posted a pic of it in the gallery.
http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/data/522/thumbs/41127-2718_jpdome.jpg
me and my dome (http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=66)
http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/data/522/thumbs/41127-2714_jpdome_moon.jpg
geodesic dome lit up at night (http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=65)

...or you can drive by and look for yourself if you live nearby. Avenue H, half way between 42nd and 43rd street in Austin, TX.

Currently it is strung with xmas lights. 8ft tall, 16ft diameter. Difficult part was the joints of course. I can explain how i did it if anyone is curious.

note: as my bigbrain friend pointed out. it is in fact an icosohedron dome, not a geodesic.

-john paul

[CaroleMeckes]

Hello john paul,
I drove by and enjoyed the display with lights, and inside it looked like there was a suspended purple globe, with a white chair in the center.
Now we have another outstanding bamboo landmark for Austin, Texas!

..."I can explain how i did it if anyone is curious. "

I'm curious...how did you start it?

..."note: as my bigbrain friend pointed out. it is in fact an icosohedron dome, not a geodesic."

What is an icosohedron?

Carole

[Mark Meckes]

Excellent photography, and use of bamboo, john paul!

I've always liked the challenge, especially when making garden structures, to see what I can make with just bamboo, no strings or wire or metal stakes...just the bamboo ... for what it is.
It has special merit, like in basket making, weaving a utensil from bamboo alone.
It can also be done using special joinery techniques, (holes and slots and bamboo pegs etc), but my favoured method of using only bamboo, is through weaving techniques, which `holds' bamboo in it's place by using a designated pattern of weave (random or specific).
In the garden, using tapered bamboo tops (in the round), I incorporate the `twirl' weave into a design, and also the `over & under' weave.

One method of making bamboo (only) domes, with geometric patterns, would be to use long split bamboo, and weave a very very large open-weave basket, and then turn it upside-down...It is now a dome!
Basket designs could be dome shapes.

Here's a woven bamboo pottery bowl holder ...
http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/data/523/thumbs/809BBsktCly-539.JPG See larger pic (http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=67)
... showing yet another possible dome design variation.

It's quite remarkable what went into the making of this `product'.
It is an (imported) `production piece' made by highly skilled, (under-paid craftspeople).
As a result, the artistic finesse, or details and finish is lacking.

Thanks for helping to put Austin Texas on the `map' as a fertile region for bamboo innovations!

Mark

[jbest]

If anyone is interested, I came across some software called DOME for helping determine the coordinates and measurements for a geodesic dome. I haven't tried it yet but it sounds interesting and very helpful. Available for Win, Mac, Linux and others.

http://www.applied-synergetics.com/ashp/html/domes.html

It also can output a variety of 3D files for rendering your dome in other applications.

Jason

[Mark Meckes]

Thanks for the Dome Link, Jason... quite impressive!

You may be interested in checking out...
Juno's World (http://www.polyhedra.jp/zindex.html)
Have a look at the `Gallery' of geometric designs, some of them animated.

When Junichi Yananose visited Austin this summer to assist Akio Hizume in building a bamboo star cage, he showed us some very interesting work he is doing in the world of geometrics.

Juno mentioned to us that he had at some time also won the bamboo top flying championship in Japan... I will ask him for more details

Mark

[johnpaul]

Thanks Jason for the link. Wish i had known about that earlier. ha.

Mark, yes I like the idea of building with only bamboo. maybe on my next dome. I have a lot to learn about how to use bamboo such as using split bamboo, etc.
Liked the little troll pics.

Carole, thanks for driving by. I added a second chair since couples seem to like to check out the dome as they walk by at night.

here is a photo of one of the joints:
http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/data/522/thumbs/41jointcloseup.jpg
sample joint (http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=86)

there are probably much better ways of joining but if you look at my little scribbled design idea you can see what i did.
http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/data/522/thumbs/41napkindesign.jpg
napkin design (http://www.bamboocraft.net/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=87)

I looped one piece of jute thru drilled holes then out the end of each pole. These loops were then looped over an approx. 3" bamboo stub. More jute was wrapped around the joint to tighten things up.

-john paul

[Bamboodist]

Hey, i just found this group while looking for info about geodesic bamboo domes.

I have the following list of books that might help a bit (all available on amazon.com) :

-Grow Your Own House (with a specific chapter on bamboo domes)
by Simon Velez
ISBN: 3931936252

-Building with Bamboo: A Handbook
ISBN: 1853392030

-Guadua: Bamboo Architecture and Design
ISBN: 9588156068

This link is an excellent source:
http://www.desertdomes.com/bamboo/

Dome links:
http://www.domegroup.org/domelinks.html


http://bambus.rwth-aachen.de/eng/reports/modern_architecture/einleitung/apiano.jpg

[johnpaul]

bamboodist,
thank you for the links. i will check them out.
-john paul

[Madake]

I did a google image search for "bamboo Dome" and found a great Japanese website: Star Dome (http://www.stardome.jp/index-en.html).
They use six 5m culms of about 10cm diameter, split them in 6 each, and make a very nice dome! The website is very informative, and if anyone wants a copy of the plans, I can help you with the Japanese.
I am getting ready to build this one with my wife and kids as soon as we get back from vacation. then I am going to plant all sorts of vines around the base. Hopefully it will make a neat playhouse for the kids come late summer/fall. Or I could make it in the field next door and let the kudzu cover it. That would only take a few minutes.

[Respicha]

Dear Madake, please assisst me to interpret the japanese in dome construction. my e mail address is respicha@yahoo.com

[Madake]

Dear Madake, please assisst me to interpret the japanese in dome construction. my e mail address is respicha@yahoo.com

I just checked, the site has now included English instructions!

http://www.stardome.jp/index-en.html

please enjoy!

[bicyclelover]

Hey,

Stardomes are WAY easier man. I'm excited to build more and develop green-building technology around this beautiful framework. Look at my 55' dome! myspace.com/bicyclelover