Breaking Ground with Bamboo

Abstract

The construction industry and the existing building stock are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. To address this environmental challenge, there is a growing interest in using bio-based materials, such as wood, in architecture. Yet, the availability of wood resources is limited.
Bamboo, a non-wood species, holds promise as a potential substitute due to its rapid growth rate. However, its adoption in the construction industry remains limited due to the challenges posed by its hollow tube anatomy and the lack of established building codes for its use.
To overcome these challenges, this study proposes the utilization of bamboo in a powdered and fiber form to create a more versatile and standardized building material.
Additive manufacturing techniques, which have seen significant advancements in the past three decades, have also made their way into the construction sector, traditionally slower in adopting innovations. These additive manufacturing technologies offer the potential to reduce labor costs, minimize material waste, and enable the fabrication of complex geometries that are challenging to achieve using conventional construction methods.
While 3D printing technologies for concrete and steel structures have made significant progress, the research and application of additive manufacturing with bamboo for construction purposes still lag behind.
The thesis aims to address this research gap by developing a building component made with bamboo using additive manufacturing technology. By leveraging the benefits of additive manufacturing and utilizing bamboo as a renewable and versatile material, this thesis seeks to promote sustainable practices in the field of architecture.