The wonder material of bamboo continues to amaze us with its potential. From plywood, to salad bowls, to the ethereal structures of Kengo Kuma, this sustainable, structural grass seems to have endless possibilities. Now, Bamboo Living is sponsoring an international competition to design buildings out of bamboo. The competition is open to all students, architects, and designers, with the goal of raising awareness of the ecological benefits of using bamboo as both a material and a technology.
Designs can be submitted in just about any category you can think of: pole houses, emergency shelters, urban buildings, and garden structures, to name a few. In addition to the monetary prizes that will be awarded, the winning design will be marketed by Bamboo Technologies, which designs and builds bamboo structures for clients worldwide. Founded in 1995, Bamboo Technologies was born out of a vision to “create an environmentally sustainable housing alternative in the building industry.”
Most of the bamboo poles that Bamboo Technologies uses for their projects are sustainably grown and harvested in Vietnam (nearly half of Vietnam’s provinces now produce bamboo for export, as bamboo plants regenerated much more quickly than other species that were devastated by Agent Orange.) The poles are pre-finished, and then prefabricated into house panels and pieces prior to shipping to their destination.
Bamboo Technologies currently has 20 models available for sale- yours could be the 21st!
+2006 International Bamboo Building Design Competition +Bamboo Technologies
Via Treehugger
