Shelter
Documenting a personal quest for non-toxic housing.
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Bamboo
In response to a post on the Bamboo Village research center in Hawaii, I heard from a representative of the Bamboo Living company, also in Hawaii. This company offers a large collection of prefabricated kit homes made with natural bamboo. The designs are much more sophisticated than most other bamboo homes I've seen in the past, using a concealed plate joint system and entirely bolted and pegged connections. And the look of the structures is surprisingly elegant -far from the cliches of 'Tiki Hut' theme architecture. Made in Vietnam from a specific construction grade bamboo that is treated with non-toxic borates, assembled into modular panels and frames, test assembled, and shipped to Hawaii for final assembly, these homes seem to share with the Bali-T a limit to a warm tropical climate location. Their bamboo composition makes them highly sustainable due to the very rapid growth rate; this construction grade bamboo growing to harvest size in a mere seven years compared to the many decades for conventional lumber species. My only complaints with these kits is their somewhat high prices -though they are consistent with most American made kit home products- and the use of what seems to be conventional plywood sheathing for roofing and sub-flooring. I've asked if this is perhaps actually a kind of bamboo plywood but have not heard back. Bamboo flooring is, of course, widely used and sometimes chosen for non-toxic housing. In theory, it should be just as suitable for plywood/chip-board alternatives, though so far I've heard of none.
Documenting a personal quest for non-toxic housing.
Thursday, April 22, 2004Bamboo
In response to a post on the Bamboo Village research center in Hawaii, I heard from a representative of the Bamboo Living company, also in Hawaii. This company offers a large collection of prefabricated kit homes made with natural bamboo. The designs are much more sophisticated than most other bamboo homes I've seen in the past, using a concealed plate joint system and entirely bolted and pegged connections. And the look of the structures is surprisingly elegant -far from the cliches of 'Tiki Hut' theme architecture. Made in Vietnam from a specific construction grade bamboo that is treated with non-toxic borates, assembled into modular panels and frames, test assembled, and shipped to Hawaii for final assembly, these homes seem to share with the Bali-T a limit to a warm tropical climate location. Their bamboo composition makes them highly sustainable due to the very rapid growth rate; this construction grade bamboo growing to harvest size in a mere seven years compared to the many decades for conventional lumber species. My only complaints with these kits is their somewhat high prices -though they are consistent with most American made kit home products- and the use of what seems to be conventional plywood sheathing for roofing and sub-flooring. I've asked if this is perhaps actually a kind of bamboo plywood but have not heard back. Bamboo flooring is, of course, widely used and sometimes chosen for non-toxic housing. In theory, it should be just as suitable for plywood/chip-board alternatives, though so far I've heard of none.
10:34:55 PM 