Boom in bamboo buildings has green benefits

In an age of diminishing resources and burgeoning populations, bamboo's environmental and social benefits are its biggest selling point as construction material.

Unlike steel, which is produced in only a handful of industrialized nations, more than 1,100 bamboo species — a few dozen of them suitable for building — proliferate in the tropics. Culms, or stalks, shoot up almost anywhere, easing carbon dioxide's choke on the planet while absorbing water as efficiently as a desert cactus.

But building with bamboo is labor intensive and can be costly in parts of the world, depending on local supply.

Velez estimates that 80 percent of his costs on any project go to paying the 300 specialized craftsmen who follow him around the world, most recently to Guangdong province, China, where he built the country's first commercial bamboo project, the award-winning Crosswaters Ecolodge for tourism.

Bamboo's abundance is, ironically, an obstacle to wider acceptance. Its most visible use is as rickety, makeshift housing — feeding the stereotype that it is poor man's lumber.

That hasn't stopped David Sands. The Hawaii-based architect creates Robinson Crusoe revival homes in Vietnam then ships them in panels around the world for quick assembly.

After building a hundred homes in Hawaii and a resort in Bali, his Bamboo Technologies company is aiming for the U.S. mainland, where its challenges include insulating against colder temperatures and coping with uninformed building inspectors.

But in a sure sign that bamboo's time may have come, Sands says he's had to turn down a $20 million unsolicited offer for his company from potential investors.

"It came as a total shock. We're not ready for the kind of scale they were proposing," Sands said, laughing.

Not enough forest to ramp up
The world's bamboo crops may not be ready either — there are few commercial bamboo farms to meet a growing demand, and the United Nations in 2004 warned that as many as half of all wild species may be in danger of extinction due to forest loss.

For the Nomadic Museum, Velez had to ship 9,000 pieces of guadua to Mexico, undercutting much of the material's "grow your own house" mystique.

But shortages may also be filled as bamboo plywood — already a major industry in China — gains acceptance in the United States and Europe, and growers rush to meet the demand.

"The rate at which it grows is amazing," says Raul de Villafranca, consultant for Agromod, a Mexican company that is planting 9,880 acres in the southern state of Chiapas. "In one year, you can harvest stalks 15 meters (50 feet) tall, and unlike hardwood, it never needs to be replanted."

San Francisco architect Darrel DeBoer, who specializes in sustainable materials, says bamboo-framed structures buttressed by earth or straw bale are viable in any climate, once isolated from the elements with a proper foundation.

But he says bamboo has the potential to make its greatest impact where its already found.

"If you can afford the high price of land in the states, you're not going to worry about using low-cost building materials," says DeBoer, who has hosted several workshops with Velez. "In contrast, the developing countries around the tropics need affordable housing, and the jobs that building with bamboo can generate."

MORE FROM ENVIRONMENT

Environment Section Front

Audit: Abandoned mines pose big risks Oil spill idles 200 ships in Miss. River Calif. requires ships to cut pollution Climate study: Nevada faces drought Mystery of Florida's dying palms Shipping company charged in S.F. spill Oil shale under Rockies sparks battle Green cars in line for better batteries GM, utilities join to study electric car’s impact Solar-power pioneer circles back Environment Section Front   Add Environment headlines to your news reader: