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Modern application of bamboo is mostly used on temporary installations. The difficulty of applying bamboo makes this material less appealing, mostly for two reasons. First, bamboo is a natural material, and therefore the radius of each bamboo stalk is different, making it hard to work on. Bamboo is also hard for any force to be evenly applied, which makes bamboo a fragile material. Second, there are two ways of constructing bamboo in adaption to bamboo’s natural properties. One traditional way is to use ropes; the other more modern way is to use metal. The former way requires a lot of time, effort and experience, while the latter damages the bamboo’s structure when penetrating the bamboo. Also with the latter method, the exposed potion of the bamboo is prone to rot.
This research aims to discover the potentials of bamboo, in the hope to find a way apart from the traditional rope method and the more modern metal method to use bamboo as a building material. This research puts the joint and structure of bamboo as its innovative objective.
This research uses practical operation and parameterized simulation as its research method, which incorporates repetitive tests and corrections. The first stage is to analyze data, followed by the production of three types of bamboo attachments and joints. 6 joint types can be produced according to the data analysis, and based on these types, there can be 16 different combinations, according to which, joints are produced and tested. The second stage is to perform simulations with digital tools based on actual conditions learnt from the first stage. In combination with the design of adaptable joints, variable parameters are put into scripts witch consequently define a procedure to automatically simulate the construction of bamboo.
This research sets goals on adaptable joints and the simulation of bamboo construction, with the intent to pioneer new ways to construct with bamboo. Firstly, adaptable joints not only save time and effort, they also reduce the possibility of damaging the bamboo. As the joints can be mass produced and easily arranged, they can potentially make bamboo constructions more efficient. Secondly, the digital design process allows designers to simulate the construction of bamboo based on actual conditions. With these two goals achieved, rate of acceptance and usage of bamboo may increase, making bamboo a new option for construction.
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