Sustainable Architecture
Published on Jun 13, 2016
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PRESENTATION OUTLINE
ELORA HARDY
Sustainable Architecture
this is a great 6 story structure
How she used bamboo to save trees
Ibuku is a team of designers and builders who aspire to make the most of bamboo and local talented craftspeople and young minds. We believe that bamboo’s potential is underestimated. It should be used to house many more people, especially in the tropics. We work hard to draw out beauty from this abundant wild grass. The traditional Balinese craftsmen work closely with our designers to develop a balance of ancient and new ideas. It also takes significant modern engineering to create original bamboo structures that meet our highest standards. Elora Hardy leads Ibuku’s vision and sustainable design. In 2010 Elora returned to her childhood home in Bali. Together she and her team of talented Indonesian designers and architects have built over forty new bamboo structures. They include Green Village, parts of Green School and other projects, mostly on the island.
BAMBOO
The Perfect Resource
WHY BAMBOO?
“So why Bamboo? Bamboo is the future. It is the most beautiful, versatile, tallest and strongest material that we could possibly choose. The rainforest is almost gone, plywood is mostly made from the rainforest and cement has a carbon load that is not going to help the future. That leaves bamboo and if children plant bamboo today in eight years they will have timber ready to go and they will get timber every year for the rest of their life to build anything they need”
-John Hardy, Green School co-founder
We build because we believe in bamboo. Its strength, beauty, flexibility, 4-year growth cycle, and carbon sequestration capacity make it the most environmentally conscientious building material conceivable. Though bamboo has traditionally been used throughout Asia in short-term structures, new treatment methods have given it a capacity for longer life. Our engineers, architects and designers have created a completely new design vocabulary. Not only is bamboo good for the environment, but it also helps the people living in the space to connect with nature.
Throughout Asia, bamboo has always been regarded as sacred, symbolizing grace, strength, flexibility, endurance and longevity. The mystique and beauty of the bamboo forest is one of the most common themes for paintings and jade carvings. Ancient Chinese literature held bamboo in profound esteem: “When the storm comes, the bamboo bends with the wind. When the storm ceases, it resumes its upright position.” Bamboo is a symbol of the harmony between nature and human beings.
-John Hardy, Green School co-founder
We build because we believe in bamboo. Its strength, beauty, flexibility, 4-year growth cycle, and carbon sequestration capacity make it the most environmentally conscientious building material conceivable. Though bamboo has traditionally been used throughout Asia in short-term structures, new treatment methods have given it a capacity for longer life. Our engineers, architects and designers have created a completely new design vocabulary. Not only is bamboo good for the environment, but it also helps the people living in the space to connect with nature.
Throughout Asia, bamboo has always been regarded as sacred, symbolizing grace, strength, flexibility, endurance and longevity. The mystique and beauty of the bamboo forest is one of the most common themes for paintings and jade carvings. Ancient Chinese literature held bamboo in profound esteem: “When the storm comes, the bamboo bends with the wind. When the storm ceases, it resumes its upright position.” Bamboo is a symbol of the harmony between nature and human beings.
STRENGTH
Bamboo is strong, with the compressive force of concrete and the strength-to-weight ratio of steel.
Renewability
With very little attention, a bamboo shoot can become a structural column within three years, and that building could stand strong for a lifetime.
SUSTAINABILITY
- With its three-year growth cycle and carbon sequestration it is a uniquely efficient and responsible resource. Even sustainable timber can’t begin to compare with bamboo as a conscientious building material.
Long Life
Though bamboo has traditionally been used throughout Asia, new treatment methods have given it a longer lifespan. Ibuku’s bamboo, selectively harvested from local sources, is treated ecologically, then lab tested to confirm its durability and integrity.
HOW TO USE BAMBOO
How do you keep the bugs away?
TREATMENT
In the past bamboo buildings were susceptible to termites and powder post Beetle infestations that would eat the bamboo. Our Bamboo is treated with a boron solution. It is a naturally occurring salt solution that renders the bamboo indigestible to insects. It has a toxicity just 1.5 times that of regular table salt. The solution is re-used in a closed-loop system.
In the past bamboo buildings were susceptible to termites and powder post Beetle infestations that would eat the bamboo. Our Bamboo is treated with a boron solution. It is a naturally occurring salt solution that renders the bamboo indigestible to insects. It has a toxicity just 1.5 times that of regular table salt. The solution is re-used in a closed-loop system.
DESIGN
Using a bamboo maquette
DESIGN
We design on the land, for the land. Instead of conventional blueprints, we create scale structural models made of hand-whittled bamboo sticks. These models are replicated in 3D line in the computer for our engineers to study and confirm. The design process doesn’t end there. Our architects and engineers follow the project in depth through completion to ensure structural integrity and longevity.
We design on the land, for the land. Instead of conventional blueprints, we create scale structural models made of hand-whittled bamboo sticks. These models are replicated in 3D line in the computer for our engineers to study and confirm. The design process doesn’t end there. Our architects and engineers follow the project in depth through completion to ensure structural integrity and longevity.
Trees v Bamboo
Q: What kind of bamboo is used to build your houses and where does it come from?
A: ‘Petung’, Dendrocalamus Asper, which comes from Bali and Java. It grows in small clumps along the river valley, usually on privately owned land, so we purchase our bamboo from hundreds of individual farmers.
Q: How much bamboo is required to build an average-sized villa at Green Village?
A: Our 300sqm houses at Green Village Bali contain + 8100 running meters of bamboo structure or approximately 1200 poles. An additional + 3000 m is used in interior finishing.
Q: Does bamboo lose its form after a while?
A: Bamboo is a flexible and tensile material with the strength equivalent to steel. We account for the flexibility in the engineering process and work to ensure our bamboo maintains its integrity over time.
Q: Is it easy to have access to large quantities of bamboo?
A: Yes, bamboo is plentiful in river valleys throughout Asia, and the clumps regenerate each year. Bamboo is ready for use as a building material at age 3-5 years.
Q: You mentioned the “new treatment methods have given the bamboo a new capacity for long life.” What kind of treatment methods are we talking about?
A: Our main treatment uses a boron solution that suppress the glucose inside the bamboo and renders it inedible for insects.
Q: Does it include the use of chemicals, or is the bamboo treated naturally?
A: The bamboo is treated naturally with boron, a chemical element found in nature – for example in the Great Salt Lake, USA. It is only slightly more toxic than table salt and is perfectly safe to use in a family home.
Q: What is the life span of bamboo?
A: Structural performance of our structures based on our engineers’ calculations is a minimum of 25 years. There are bamboo structures in South America and Europe that are over 100 years old. If the bamboo is chosen well, treated properly, designed carefully and maintained, a bamboo house can last a lifetime.
Q: How does the bamboo survive in the sun and rain?
A: Our bamboo houses are designed and built to avoid prolonged sun and rain exposure. The bamboo is also coated with a weather resistant coating.
Q: What kind of maintenance is required in the long run?
A: Properly treated and selected, mature bamboo in a well-designed structure does not require significant structural maintenance. The bamboo should only be treated once, before construction begins; additional treatments against insects are not necessary. The roof of a bamboo house must be maintained to protect the columns from prolonged rain contact and direct sun exposure; poles that are exposed should be monitored and protected and joints reviewed every few years to confirm that they remain secure. Re-coating both structural and interior bamboo every 2-4 years will improve its appearance and longevity, and we anticipate that the quality of and technology behind coatings will advance over time, including waterproofing and UV resistance. Long-term maintenance is primarily cosmetic refinishing.
Q: Has the company done any Life Cycle Assessment/Analysis (LCA) on the bamboo products?
A: We work with testing labs in Jakarta and Singapore. Test results confirm our bamboo density and treatment absorption
A: ‘Petung’, Dendrocalamus Asper, which comes from Bali and Java. It grows in small clumps along the river valley, usually on privately owned land, so we purchase our bamboo from hundreds of individual farmers.
Q: How much bamboo is required to build an average-sized villa at Green Village?
A: Our 300sqm houses at Green Village Bali contain + 8100 running meters of bamboo structure or approximately 1200 poles. An additional + 3000 m is used in interior finishing.
Q: Does bamboo lose its form after a while?
A: Bamboo is a flexible and tensile material with the strength equivalent to steel. We account for the flexibility in the engineering process and work to ensure our bamboo maintains its integrity over time.
Q: Is it easy to have access to large quantities of bamboo?
A: Yes, bamboo is plentiful in river valleys throughout Asia, and the clumps regenerate each year. Bamboo is ready for use as a building material at age 3-5 years.
Q: You mentioned the “new treatment methods have given the bamboo a new capacity for long life.” What kind of treatment methods are we talking about?
A: Our main treatment uses a boron solution that suppress the glucose inside the bamboo and renders it inedible for insects.
Q: Does it include the use of chemicals, or is the bamboo treated naturally?
A: The bamboo is treated naturally with boron, a chemical element found in nature – for example in the Great Salt Lake, USA. It is only slightly more toxic than table salt and is perfectly safe to use in a family home.
Q: What is the life span of bamboo?
A: Structural performance of our structures based on our engineers’ calculations is a minimum of 25 years. There are bamboo structures in South America and Europe that are over 100 years old. If the bamboo is chosen well, treated properly, designed carefully and maintained, a bamboo house can last a lifetime.
Q: How does the bamboo survive in the sun and rain?
A: Our bamboo houses are designed and built to avoid prolonged sun and rain exposure. The bamboo is also coated with a weather resistant coating.
Q: What kind of maintenance is required in the long run?
A: Properly treated and selected, mature bamboo in a well-designed structure does not require significant structural maintenance. The bamboo should only be treated once, before construction begins; additional treatments against insects are not necessary. The roof of a bamboo house must be maintained to protect the columns from prolonged rain contact and direct sun exposure; poles that are exposed should be monitored and protected and joints reviewed every few years to confirm that they remain secure. Re-coating both structural and interior bamboo every 2-4 years will improve its appearance and longevity, and we anticipate that the quality of and technology behind coatings will advance over time, including waterproofing and UV resistance. Long-term maintenance is primarily cosmetic refinishing.
Q: Has the company done any Life Cycle Assessment/Analysis (LCA) on the bamboo products?
A: We work with testing labs in Jakarta and Singapore. Test results confirm our bamboo density and treatment absorption
