Method Development
Since 2010, engineer Lucas Kremer, founder of Bambú Arquitectura, has been designing and building structures using bamboo (Guadua angustifolia).
In 2010, Lucas Kremer designed a 4-story building with 6 apartments in Rio de Janeiro, made of bamboo and laminated bamboo.
In April 2016 a strong earthquake shook Ecuador. Many people in the coastal zone of Ecuador lost their houses, made of concrete and blocks. These structures did not resist the forces of the earthquake. Bamboo structures resisted these great forces of nature much better.
In 2016, Lucas Kremer designed 12 bamboo houses for families in the Libertador Bolívar district who had lost their homes. The victims had to build their new bamboo house under my supervision. They had no experience with bamboo, so the construction had to be simple enough for inexperienced people to do the job.
The design had a reinforced concrete foundation, a bamboo structure, cane walls partially plastered on the inner side, galvanized steel plates for the roofs. The houses were 42 m2, with a living room/kitchen/dining room, 1 bathroom and 2 or 3 bedrooms.
Most people were able to do the work and build their new house under the supervision of engineer Lucas Kremer. Most families had someone working as a bricklayer, carpenter, or craftsman. These families were able to build their bamboo houses. Families without a bricklayer, carpenter, or craftsman had difficulty building their new house.
Designing the structure in 3D
The design for the bamboo structure was computer-generated. It was a highly symmetrical design with 1-meter repeat measurements for the position of the structure's poles. These measurements correspond with the foundation reinforcement measurements to facilitate locating the anchors for the bamboo columns.
Structural bolted joints
For the structural part of the house, engineer Lucas Kremer didn't want to use homemade joints (he had doubts about the structural quality of these joints, and they're difficult to make). He only wanted to use joints made with threaded rods, rings, and nuts (better structural quality, easier to make). The structural bolts are set to fixed measurements.
Bamboo cutting scheme
For each house, Lucas Kremer had 85 seasoned reeds available. Initially, the workers began by cutting only the components for one part of the structure. Working this way generates a lot of waste. The first house used 25% more reeds than were available for each house. He needed to find a more efficient way to avoid problems with the other houses. The design generated a list of all the structural components, with exact measurements including the cutting angles. Engineer Lucas Kremer created a cutting diagram to fit all the components from the 85 available reeds. The cutting diagram worked. We were able to reduce waste and were able to build the following structures from 85 reeds.
The foundation work did not cause any problems. People used to work with concrete.
No nails
People wanted to use common building practices with concrete and blocks for the bamboo structure. But:
- Nails may not be used, neither to temporarily fix part of the structure nor to make joints. A nail damages the bamboo, a nail has no structural characteristics in bamboo.
- Bamboo cannot be positioned like wood or concrete because of it´s conic form and irregularity.
Bolts through the axis of the bamboo
The solution: well-placed bolts. If the components are cut right and the bolts are located exactly as designed, the bamboo structure will not only be plumb, but also square, without the need to use straps and nails to temporarily secure the frame.
For the location of the bolts, the central axis of the bamboo needs to be used. Question of measuring, marking and controlling. The result of a bamboo structure made in this way is much better than working in the traditional way, using strips, lead, a long drill, etc. Common construction workers were able to do this precise job.
High-quality technical drawings
Before the pandemic, engineer Lucas Kremer created the structural designs and explained the details on-site. Due to the pandemic, he was unable to visit the job site and had to create higher-quality technical drawings that didn't require explanations on-site. To resolve this issue, Lucas Kremer made scaled cuts of all the structural axes. He visualized all the bamboo components and bolts with exact measurements. With these new technical drawings, the structure can be built without the need for explanations on-site. The bamboo house in Dos Mangas was built during the pandemic with the new technical drawings without on-site supervision.
Over the past five years, engineer Lucas Kremer has designed various bamboo structures. From a self-supporting, portable cabin to a two-story house with a bamboo frame supporting the concrete floor of the second floor. All structures follow the same principle: structural connections made with bolts positioned precisely along the axes of the bamboo.
Stabilizing the structure
For structural stability, engineer Lucas Kremer uses different techniques:
- joints between three rods with bolts in three directions (x, y, z), to reduce the free movement of the structure;
- rigid walls, e.g. concrete block, reinforced with threaded rod, or sandwich panels (with Plywood or OSB boards);
- crosses made of bamboo latillas between the bolts of two columns. With these crosses part of the structure can be stabilized during the construction fase. This prevents the use of nails and strips. Another advantage of the crosses: the colums are positioned exactly vertical and the beams exactly horizontal;
- bamboo diagonals to make triangles in the structure.
Standard materials
Engineer Lucas Kremer uses standard materials and tools that are available nationwide. These are materials and tools that workers are familiar with and easily obtainable.
Guadua angustifolia
We only use Guadua. It's stronger than giant bamboo, has fewer cracks, and a more natural shine.
Construction method
- Generates high-quality, strong, precise, professional bamboo structures.
- It facilitates the use of traditional workers (masons, carpenters) without the need to use many specialists.
- It makes it possible to prefabricate bamboo structures and assemble them on site or export bamboo structures to other countries.
Animation of a construction
