Bamboo in Architecture
Bamboo: “In this turbulent world, we stands proud and sway with the wind and know that as long we stands together, we will prevail!”
The most common plant variety in our country is grass. That’s because it thrives in our weather and also grows in most varieties of soil. Not known to many is that the bamboo belongs to the grass family and is therefore endemic to our shores.
Our ancestors and even the simple folk to this day have relied on bamboo as tools for farming and hunting. It has been used as lattices for vegetables, spears, fishing poles, traps, animal shelters, and even for irrigation pipes. Even in the kitchen it has proved valuable: as firewood, food steamer, carved as spoon and fork, and, of course, as “tuhog” for any barbeque. Young bamboo shoots or “labong” are also a local delicacy cooked in a number of different ways depending on where in the country you are.
In the field of music, bamboo has made a name, as in the world-renowned bamboo organ, or for xylophones, flutes, and chimes.
Bamboo has been used in limitless ways. In building our indigenous homes, it is used for posts, floor strips, roof framing, ceiling, walls, and fences. Why in some cases it is even used as roofing. The fact is, one can make a house entirely from bamboo, with furnishings to boot!
Some people mistakenly think that this modest material called bamboo has uses limited to indigenous houses and small-scale industries. Its uses are as diverse as man’s creativity!
Bamboo has found its mark not just locally but globally, as well. Our furniture makers have used this material extensively and have made headway with it in the international market. Now there are bamboo farms that grow the poles to the specifications of the furniture maker, with various options as to species, quality, color, size, and shape. Even the curve patterns are predetermined. The normally round bamboo sections can now be engineered to create oval or square sections. There are so many varieties of bamboo found all over the Philippines, while there are even more around Asia.
In Hong Kong and China, bamboo is the material chosen by most builders for scaffoldings and form works in creating their modern skyscrapers. Visiting the growing cities of China, you will observe bamboo frames and nets wrapped around these tall, massive structures under construction. Large contractors prefer bamboo due to its lightness and strength, not to mention cost efficiency and sustainability.
As a landscape element, bamboo is finding a place in new homes within the cities. Whether as living garden plants or dried and treated ornamentals, it readily lends its charm and beauty and produces soothing sounds that remind urban dwellers of the peaceful life in the countryside. It provides an oasis of sorts and softens the concrete jungle. It enhances the Asian flavor of any setting. It reminds us of our roots and of how we should live our lives in harmony and simplicity. The gold and green combination in bamboo creates an ambiance of freshness and light-heartedness, which no other material offers.
Today, more and more people are beginning to appreciate this God-given wonder called bamboo. Research and experiments are continuously being made to find other uses and applications for it. Bamboo is being considered as an effective way to reinforce concrete. New products are currently being launched using bamboo as floor and wall tiles. Laminated bamboo finishes are being developed for wall panels and sidings. In a recent building exhibition, a number of exhibitors launched their Bamboo product lines in finishes and home décor, a sign of Filipino and Asian ingenuity. Innovative architects, like Bobby Maňosa, have long used it even as a roofing material in fist class resorts and residences, thus making bamboo a notable element for Filipino architecture.
Bamboo is no longer a material considered only for temporary applications. Technology has treated this humble material and made it stronger and more resilient to conform to modern needs and permanent applications.
Despite all this, some may still underestimate its uses. So here’s more. Bamboo is one, if not the most economical and effective way to prevent erosion. It has a very resilient root system that holds on to the soil when exposed to the elements. This combined with “vegeneering” (vegetation and engineering) has proved effective in protecting the watersheds in the country.
Bamboo provides for the livelihood of a lot of our brothers in the countryside trying to make ends meet. With this material now enjoying a surge in popularity, these families have a better chance of improving their way of life.
Towards this end, a dynamic group of architects under the United Architects of the Philippines Fort Bonifacio Chapter has recently launched a Bamboo Reforestation Program. The pilot site for the project targets the Naguilian River Basin in La Union. This consists of a twenty hectare-area within the towns of Bauang, San Fernando, and Naguilian. This is part of a more comprehensive project undertaken by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and the Naguilian River Basin Committee.
This is a two-prong approach that aims first to protect the environment by protecting the watershed from erosion and to support the continuous supply of potable water for the adjacent communities. These will be achieved by planting the bamboo on the banks of surrounding streams and tributaries. Secondly, the project will provide livelihood for the indigenous folks by allowing them to have an abundance of raw materials that may be used in a variety of ways.
This project may not seem to matter much globally but does matter a lot for those living around the area. In the over-all vision, this will be the initial movement that could be replicated in other similar watershed areas as well.
Some may wonder why Architects should be concerned with reforestation. That fact is, that it should be everyone’s concern. However, architects dictate which materials to use and wood is one of the basics on the list. It isn’t bad to use wood in construction, because it is a sustainable material. We can replace it and it will re-grow for the use of future generations. Of course, architect or not, your help toward the environment will be greatly appreciated. If you are interested in the above bamboo reforestation project, you may inquire via email to mg@mgarkinet.com.
The bamboo may very well be the symbol of our country’s resiliency. It has weathered storms, draught, forest fires, abuse, and extreme conditions. But it stands proud and sways with the wind and knows that as long as more of its kind stands together, it will prevail!
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