Bamboo U

In the final podcast of this season, I sat down with Mexico-based architect, Lucilla Aguilar to talk about her experience in working with bamboo for post-earthquake relief and how she created systems for working with bamboo that are replicable and easy for non-bamboo carpenters to work with.

In This Episode We Discuss:

• The Beauty Of Bamboo Architecture
• My First Bamboo Project
• Collaborating With Other Bamboo Architects In Mexico
• Bamboo Housing For Post Earthquake Relief
• What Bamboo Can Do For Communities
• Creating Adaptable Designs
• Creating Replicable And Easy Systems For Working With Bamboo
• Building Walls For Bamboo Structures
• Developing A Bamboo Workforce
• Bamboo Building Regulations
• Bringing Bamboo Into Urban Centres
• Building A Bamboo Pavilion
• Building Inspiring and Long Lasting Structures
• Building A Bamboo Community
• The Beauty Of Bamboo Architecture
• My First Bamboo Project
• Collaborating With Other Bamboo Architects In Mexico
• Bamboo Housing For Post-Earthquake Relief
• What Bamboo Can Do For Communities
• Creating Adaptable Designs
• Creating Replicable And Easy Systems For Working With Bamboo
• Building Walls For Bamboo Structures
• Developing A Bamboo Workforce
• Bamboo Building Regulations
• Bringing Bamboo Into Urban Centres
• Building A Bamboo Pavilion
• Building Inspiring and Long Lasting Structures
• Building A Bamboo Community

We dive into the world of bamboo furniture production with Rebecca Reubens, the driving force behind Rhizome. From industrial design to bamboo furniture, Rebecca shares her journey of working with bamboo; empowering collaborations with local communities, NGOs, local governments, and craftspeople. We talk about everything from colonization, the issues with industrial design, creating products with soul, and much more.

In This Episode We Discuss:

• From Industrial Design To Bamboo
• Investigating Bamboo Species For Furniture Production
• Using Local Bamboo
• Standardising Bamboo
• Changing The Perception Of Bamboo
• Creating A High-Value Bamboo Product Line
• Uplifting Local Bamboo Communities
• Working with INBAR
• Empowering Communities
• Working With The Local Government
• Dendrocalamus Strictus
• Traditional Skills And Contemporary Designs
• The Value Of Craftspeople
• Challenges In Bamboo Furniture
• Creating Products With Soul
• What is Next For Rhizome
• Rebecca’s Advice For Designers Who Aspire To Work With Bamb

In This Episode We Discuss:

• Bamboo As A Building Material
• How Bamboo Sits Within The Spectrum Of Materials
• Creating Rules And Codes Of Practice For Bamboo
• The Properties Of Bamboo
• Incorporating Bamboo Into A Western Context
• Engineered Bamboo
• Zero Carbon Buildings
• How Bamboo Grows
• Harvesting Bamboo
• The Impact Of Bamboo On The Construction Industry
• Researching The Manufacturing Of Engineered Bamboo In Vancouver
• Bamboo In North America
• ISO Standards For Bamboo
• How Bamboo Is Superior To Wood and How It Is Inferior
• Bamboo’s Tensile And Compression Capacities
• Opportunities With Engineered Bamboo
• Bamboo And Japanese Joinery
• The Limits Of Round Pole Construction
• Geometric Stiffness And Its Role In Bamboo Architecture
• Bamboo Testing
• University Research Of Bamboo
• Bamboo Joinery
• The Future Potential Of Round Pole Construction
• Taking Bamboo To Mars

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Learn more about Atelier One:

https://www.atelierone.com/

In This Episode We Discuss:

• Bamboo As A Building Material
• How Bamboo Sits Within The Spectrum Of Materials
• Creating Rules And Codes Of Practice For Bamboo
• The Properties Of Bamboo
• Incorporating Bamboo Into A Western Context
• Engineered Bamboo
• Zero Carbon Buildings
• How Bamboo Grows
• Harvesting Bamboo
• The Impact Of Bamboo On The Construction Industry
• Researching The Manufacturing Of Engineered Bamboo In Vancouver
• Bamboo In North America
• ISO Standards For Bamboo
• How Bamboo Is Superior To Wood and How It Is Inferior
• Bamboo’s Tensile And Compression Capacities
• Opportunities With Engineered Bamboo
• Bamboo And Japanese Joinery
• The Limits Of Round Pole Construction
• Geometric Stiffness And Its Role In Bamboo Architecture
• Bamboo Testing
• University Research Of Bamboo
• Bamboo Joinery
• The Future Potential Of Round Pole Construction
• Taking Bamboo To Mars

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Learn more about Atelier One:

https://www.atelierone.com/

In This Episode We Discuss:

• How the interest in bamboo came to be
• Visit to Bali and Green Village
• Harvesting and Treating Bamboo
• First Bamboo Project
• Building For Conscious Impact In Nepal
• Failures and Lessons Learned
• Bamboo In Nepal
• Starting Bambufolia
• Projects To Start With
• Elevating Bamboo
• The Biggest Challenge When Working With Bamboo
• Testing Bamboo To Make Sure It's Been Treated
• Bamboo Species
• Local Perception Of Bamboo
• Team Work
• Finding Craftsman
• Building Larger Projects
• Client Relationships
• Building A Network

Learn more about Paola's work at Bambufolia: http://bambufolia.com/ and https://www.instagram.com/bambufolia/

In This Episode We Discuss:

• Bringing High Tech Into Low Tech Areas
• From Digital To Reality
• HoloLenses
• On-Site Design With Augmented Reality (AR)
• Kristof’s Work With Bamboo
• The Golden Moon Bamboo Installation
• The ZCB Bamboo Pavilion in Hong Kong
• Using Complex Geometry For Creating Rigidity
• The Limiting Process Of Conventional Architecture And Building
• The Importance Of Digital Design Tools
• Rhinocereous and Grasshopper 3D Modelers
• Speeding Up Construction With Digital and Parametric Design
• The Future For Young Designers
• Digital Design For Bamboo Architecture
• Building BIG Using Parametric Design And Geometries
• Mitigating The Impact Of The Irregularity Of Bamboo
• The Potential Role Of AI In Bamboo Architecture
• Design Methods That Account For Variability

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Learn more about Kristof’s work at LEAD Architecture: https://l-e-a-d.pro/ and the Building Simplexity Lab at Hong Kong Uni https://bsl.hku.hk/

His tutorials are available here:

1. Grasshopper: https://bsl.hku.hk/tutorials/
2. Bending active bamboo shells: https://bsl.hku.hk/babss/

Kristof is a guest speaker for The Fundamentals Of Building Bamboo Online Course and also a resident facilitator on our 11 Day Course in Bali: https://www.bamboou.com/courses

An exciting episode and topic for the future of bamboo architecture in the Americas. Jules De Laage is an architect, former Program Manager at Bamboo U and currently leading the team building Green School Tulum in Mexico. In this episode, we talk about what it’s like to bring bamboo designs into a new context that faces environmental challenges like hurricanes, which requires an entirely new design vocabulary to emerge as a response.

In This Episode We Discuss:

• What It Is Like To Build With Bamboo In Mexico
• Adapting To The Local Constraints
• Turning Constraints Into Creative Opportunities
• New Structural Systems For Hurricanes
• Bamboo Species and Heat Bending Bamboo
• Building Curves Without Compromising Structural Integrity
• Testing The Mechanical Properties Of Bamboo
• The Social Context For Bamboo In Mexico
• Training Carpenters To Work With Bamboo
• It Takes A Village To Grow Bamboo Buildings
• Bamboo U Alumni Working On Green School Tulum

Learn more about Green School Tulum at:

https://greenschooltulum.mx/

Jules’ is a guest speaker for The Fundamentals Of Building Bamboo Online Course: https://www.bamboou.com/courses

The circular economy is a set of principles which serve as a guide in how we use our resources in an efficient and sustainable way. Felix Bock is the CEO and the Founder of ChopValue and we are honored to have him as a guest on today’s episode, to talk about turning waste into a resource and building a movement around the circular economy.

In This Episode We Discuss:

• What is Chopvalue and Why Chopsticks?
• The Scale Of Waste
• Building A Movement Around The Circular Economy
• Starting A Microfactory
• The Connection Between Profit And Impact
• Non-Toxic Resins
• Creating Modular Components
• Creating Cradle To Cradle Products
• From Raw Material To High-Value End Product
• Developing A Market
• Creating Long Term Partnerships
• No Bad Ideas
• Employee Engagement
• Growing Responsibly
• Using Franchising As A Tool For Growth
• Hungry For Change
• Redefining Waste To Resource
• Scaling and Doing Good

Learn more about ChopValue and Felix’ work: https://chopvalue.com/

Felix is also a resident speaker and facilitator of The Bamboo U Online Course: The Fundamentals Of Building With Bamboo: https://www.bamboou.com/courses

Sanne is a Bamboo U Alumni and an architect from Amsterdam. Together with her team, she is working on building an entire bamboo industry in Uganda- from plantation and harvesting to government support and building structures.

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In This Episode We Discuss:

4:05 Sanne’s First Bamboo Building Project

6:16 Building With Sustainable Materials In Uganda

7:20 Establishing The Overall System For A Bamboo Project To Be Possible

8:06 The Clients And Organisations Wanting To Build With Bamboo In Uganda

10:47 Setting Up A Bamboo Supply Chain

12:32 INBAR And Bamboo Seedlings

13:37 Setting Up A Database For Bamboo Uganda

14:43 Bamboo Species Of Africa

16:00 How Does Growing Bamboo Influence Your Designs

18:31 Bamboo Species Influencing Design

20:55 Opening A Bamboo Factory

22:18 Bamboo At The Nyege Nyege Music Festival

22:45 Building a 9000 sqm Bamboo Structure Over The Old Taxi Park In Uganda

25:35 Training Local Carpenters

28:18 Designing Within Constraints

31:35 Ubuntu: I Am Because We Are

32:40 Bringing The Right People Together

Learn more about Sanne and her team’s work:

@bkvvarchitecten

@sanneeekel

Sanne is an alumni of both Bamboo U’s The Fundamentals Of Building Bamboo Online Course and our 11 Day Build and Design Course: https://www.bamboou.com/courses

How do you build with bamboo in a context that is highly regulated? Jed Long began his journey of building with bamboo by constructing temporary structures at festivals and art installations for The Biennale of Sydney in Australia. Today, he has relocated to Bali to work on the manufacturing of cross-laminated bamboo with Indobamboo. He is passionate about increasing the uptake of bamboo for different contexts and purposes.

Jed is the Co-Founder of Cave Urban situated in Australia.

In This Episode We Discuss:

• 01:49 The Origins Of Cave Urban And Working With Bamboo In Australia
• 03:32 A Bamboo Exhibition: First Bamboo Project
• 05:39 Harvesting, Treating, Processing, And Building With Our Own Building
• 08:10 Harvesting Bamboo: Running vs Clumping Bamboo
• 09:20 Learning From Bamboo Masters
• 13:56 From Working in Unregulated To Regulated Spaces
• 14:44 Bamboo At The Sydney Biennale
• 17:53 What It's Like To Build With Bamboo Within Regulations
• 21:17 Building In Community
• 23:30 Education In Exchange For Labor
• 25:36 Agritecture: From Plant to Building
• 26:45 Creating A Culture Of Bamboo In Non-Bamboo Areas
• 29:45 Bamboo In Context
• 31:11 Indobamboo and Laminated Bamboo
• 34:24 The Challenges With Laminated Bamboo
• 38:58 Opportunities With Laminated Bamboo
• 40:40 ISO Standard For Engineered Bamboo Products
• 44:25 A Positive Future For The Built Environment
• 44:42 The Price Gap Between Bamboo and Conventional Materials
• 47:52 Durability

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Learn more about Jed’s work at:

https://www.caveurban.com/

@caveurban

https://indobamboo.com/

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Learn more about bamboo and engineering during our upcoming courses: https://www.bamboou.com/courses