AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ONLY WASHINGTON 0. C. 20523& BIBLIOGRAPHIC INPUT SHEET _ A. PIOAASR'f 1. URjECT Science and technology TCOO-0000-0000 CL ASSI- FICATION * (IfAv I Applications 2. TITLE AND SUBTITLE Bamboo as a building material 3. AUTIfOR(S) McClure,F.A. 4. DOCUMNT DATE 5. NUMBER OF PAGES I). ARC NUMBER 1953 55p._ s7 ARC 7. REFERENCE ORGANIZATION NAME AND ADDRESS AID/TA/OST S. SUPPLEMENTARY NOT ES (Sponsoring Organizatlon, Publishers, A vailabllily) 9. ABSTRACT 10. CONTROL NUMBER I1. PRICE OF DOCUMENT PI-AA6- 745" 12. DESIPTORS 13. PROJECT NUMBER Bamboo Construction materials 14. CONTRACT NUMBER AID/TA/OST 15. TYPE OF DOCUMENT AID 590-1 (4-74) BAMBOO AS A BUILDING MATERIAL by F. A. McClure formerly Field Service Consultant Foreign Agricultural Service presently Research Associate in Botany Smithsonian Institution Reprinted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of International Affairs with the permission of Foreign Agricultural Service United States Department of Agriculture Washington, D. C. May 1953 Reprinted July, 1963 Reprinted June, 1967 R eprinted June 1972 FOR EWORD This publication was originally prepared and published at the request of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) by the U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Point Four Program for the use of those actively engaged or interested in the development or improvement of the use of bamboo. It is not an exhaustive treatment of the subject; but it does present critical features and principles. J. Robert Dodge, formerly of the HUD staff and Harold R. Hay and Stephen Arneson former IIUD staff members supplied information and suggestions that contributed to the development of the subj&ct. Grateful acknowledgement is made to Graham Quate, former United States Agricultural Attache, Bangkok, Thailand, for permission to reproduce his photographs; and to Carl 0. Erlanson, New Crops Research Branch, Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, for permission to use a photograph by Howard Dorsett. Edward Beckwith supplied the photograph of the Torodja house in the central Celebes, which is used as the frontispiece; it was originally published in David Fair­ child's book, The World Grows Round My Door, and permission to reproduce it was granted by Scribners. H. E. Glenn, Vice-Director, Engineering Experi­ ment Station, Clemson Agricultural College, South Carolina, granted permission to quote extensively from his bulletin, Bamboo Reinforcement of Portland Cement Concrete Structures. Virgil C. Pettit prepared the line drawings that bear his initials. CONTENTS Page Introduction ................... I Parts of a House for Which Bamboos Are Suitable ................... 2 Foundation ..... ................. 3 Frame ...... .................... 3 Floors ...... .................... 4 Walls, Partitions, Ceilings .......... 4 Doors and Windows ................ 5 Roof ....... ....................... 5 Pipes and Troughs ..... ............ 6 Bamboo Reinforcement of Concrete . 7 Geographical Distribution of Bamboos . 12 Differences Among Species ............ 31 Some Bamboos Used in Housing ........ 32 Shortcomings of Bamboo and How to Overcome Them ............... 40 Variable Dimensions .............. 40 Uneven Surfaces ................... 40 Extreme Fissibility ............... 40 Low Durability ................... 40 Preservation ...... .................. 41 Skill Requirements ..... .............. 43 Tool Requirements ..... .............. 44 Differentiation and Evaluation of Species 46 Collecting Specimens for Idexxtification 47 Selected References ................... 50 Introduction Bamboo is one of the oldest materials used environment bamboo is a natural feature by mankind to increase comfort and well- have amply demonstrated its claim to a spe­ being. In today's world of plastics and steel, cial place in thieir everyday life. bamboo continues to make its age-old con- As technical cooperation continues to tributions and is even growing in importance. single out species with outstanding utility, Programs of technical cooperation amonp and to disseminate them more widely, along nations are giving recognition to the unique with the old skills and the new techniques qualities of bamboo and are bringing about a essential to their practical use, the Ict of broad sharing of he varieties of bamboo and many now underprivileged people will defi­ thf knowledge pertaining to their use. In s'x nitely be improved. With a few plants of Latin American countries, projects are going superior bamboos in the backya-d, a family forward today to test and select outstanding will have at hard the wherewithal to fence varieties of bamboo gathered from over the the garden, build a pigpen or chicken coop, world and to determine their potential place or add a room to the house. They will also in local economies. These projects, now a have the means of augmenting their daily part of the Point Four program u! technical income by making '-askets or other ;pecial­ cooperation, have been under way for a num- ties in spare time for sale or exchinge at ber of years and some oi them have devel- the market. oped to a point where bamboo's multiform If tech.iques of large-scale, mechanized usefulness has become obvious and challeng- utilization can be developed-as, for example, ing. in the manufacture of high-quality papers and Bamboo is a versatile plant material, rayon-new industries and increased national whose potential can be harnessed in the ser- income may be brought to underdeveloped vice of the humble as well as the great. In areas. It is with these prospects in view its adaptability to human needs, it has few that bamboo is being used as one of the ve­ peers in the plant kingdom. In the Occident hicles for implementing the Point Four pro­ as well as the Orient, the peoples in whose gram. Parts of a House for Which Bamboos Are Suitable Bamboo may be used alone to make all perior knowledge of, and devotion to, the parts of a house except the fireplace and the principles of functional design with an chimney. Under most conditions, however, awareness of the possibilities of bamboo bamboo is actually combined with other as a building material of strength and building materials, such as wood, clay, lime, beauty. Being an artist as well as an ar­ cement, galvanized iron, and palm leaves, chitect, he will appreciate the aesthetic according to their relative suitability, avail- qualities of bamboo and its versatility as ability, and cost. they have been lemonstrated in each area The use of bamboo either as a primary, where its use h,s been lifted to a high plane. secondary, or occasional source of building Given the right inspiration, the opportunity material is common only in areas where to travel and to study 'he best examples of suitable bamboos grow in sufficient abund- *he use of bambon in building construction, ance. Importance of bamboo in any given and the cooperation of persons wlo Know area usually is determined chiefly by the the bamboos and the techniques of using economic level of the common people and them, he will be able to synthesize the by the cost of other, more durable, materi- best features of banboo with the technical als. Structural soundness adequate to the improvenierts suggested by his Western exigencies of local conditions is commonly background in functional design-and so achieved with bamboo, but a general monot- produce for each cultural area a series of ony of design and a medioc-o level of exe- designs and plans that will be a credit to cution characterize bamboo houses in many the architecture of our age. areas. In certain cultural areas, however, Bamboo has several characteristics and especially at higher economic levels, that make it a suitable and econo-nical as among the well-to-do classes of Japan, building material for house construction, Java, and Malaysia, bamboo is employed as well as for the scaffolding iig. 1) that architecturally in ways that are distinctive facilitates such construction: and basically artistic. Cohen indirectly alludes to this recognition of bamboo's 1 The natural units, or culms, as special virtues: "Thp principal post in a they are called, are of a size and shape Japanese house characterizes the house that make handling, storing, and processing with regard to quality and construction, both convenient and economical. The roof members are trussed to the post, 2. The culms have a characteristic and enable a properly constructed house to physical structure that gives them a high stand up to earthquakes and tremors. The strength-weight ratio. They are round or writer has seen many houses in which the nearly so in cross section, and usually principal post is of stout bamboo, or in hollow, with rigid cross walls strategically which a stout timber post is given more placed to prevent collapse on bending. / character by being faced with bamboo.'' Within the culm walls the strong, hard It is my expectation that an architect tissues of high tensile strength a-e most will presently appear who combines a su- highly concentrated near the surface. In this position they can function nmost effi­ ciently, both in giving mechanical strength 1/ W.E. Cohen. Utilization of Bamboo and in forming a firm, resistant shell. in Japan, p. 1. Commonwealth of Australia, 3. The substance and grain of bam­ Scientific and Industrial Research Organi- boo culms make them easy to divide by zation. South Melbourne, Australia. April hand into shorter pieces (by sawing or 1947. chopping) or into narrow strips (by split­ 2 ting). No costly machines, only simple bamboo, partly because a greater pres­ tools, are required. tige is generally attached to hardwoods, 4. The natural surface of most barn- and partly because certain hardwoods boos is clean, hard, and smooth, with. an are naturally much more resistant to attractive color when the culms are prop- rot fungi and wood-eating insects than erly matured and seasoned, untreated bamboo. 5. Bamboos have little waste, and no There are certain circumstances, bark to remove. however, under which the superior resil­ iency of a bamboo frame confers impor­ Foundation tant advantages over a rigid construction.