The demand for eco-friendly bamboo houses is increasing
Bamboo has been used in construction in Asian countries, including Bangladesh, for thousands of years. However, due to the economic development of various countries, its use is decreasing.
In contrast, bamboo has begun to use to build sustainable housing in parts of the United States and other parts of the world.
David Sands Co-founder and Chief Architect of an organization called ‘Bambo Living,’ plays a leading role in modern and sustainable construction with bamboo.
Based in Hawaii, USA, this company has earned a reputation for manufacturing bamboo houses and other buildings.
Rock star Sammy Hagar, actress Barbara Hershey, music mogul Shep Gordon, and E-commerce firm eBay founder Pierre Omidia are among the buyers of bamboo homes. Even David Sands himself is using such houses.
David Sands says, ‘Bamboo is the fastest-growing plant in the world. It can grow to 100 feet tall in just a few months. When bamboo is only three years old, it makes incredible building materials.
That is when they used them to build houses. Bamboo is probably the fastest natural way to remove carbon dioxide from our atmosphere. It takes in that carbon dioxide through photosynthesis.
The bamboo then converts into sugars and finally into actual fibers. This is a big deal in terms of the rapid release of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.’
David further said, “Usually, when you cut down a tree, you kill it. However, in bamboo the opposite happens, new trunks grow every year. You collect a percentage of those trunks, and it just keeps growing. In this way, bamboo can live up to 120 years.’’
When asked how he sees bamboo’s strength and flexibility from an architect’s perspective – David Sands said, ‘’It is an incredibly strong material.
Bamboo is actually stronger than steel in terms of weight retention. Bamboo has more than twice the strength of wood commonly used for construction and is as strong as concrete.’’
He also claimed that the buildings he built with bamboo had survived several hurricanes of category 5 or 200 miles or 321 kilometers.
Their building can withstand earthquakes of magnitude 6.9. The weight of bamboo is very light. It may soften and then return to normal.
David Sands said they are now building bamboo houses in the Caribbean, South Pacific, Southeast Asia, and Southern California. He is working on a project in Florida, USA. Many people want to buy their house in India too.
He commented that people’s interest in bamboo houses has increased. Because of this, they are now increasing production. He thinks that concern about the climate crisis has played a role in this.
He said that 30 years ago, he built a bamboo house for himself in Maui, Hawaii, which he loves a lot. According to him there is a connection with nature there. Such houses are helping to solve the climate crisis.
