Lumboo: Dimensional Lumber Made from Bamboo

by Philip Proefrock

Green designers are well aware that bamboo is a rapidly-renewable resource whose production has less of an environmental impact than the production of other wood products. Bamboo flooring is well-trod territory now, and bamboo panels are becoming increasingly prevalent, as well. Now, Cali Bamboo’s Lumboo offers a dimensional lumber material that is made from bamboo.

   

 

Lumboo is an extremely tough engineered material. It is made by assembling long strips of shredded bamboo in a press and then adding a low-VOC resin and compressing it with several hundred thousand pounds of force. This creates a dense, heavy material that looks like dimensional lumber at a distance. It is naturally termite resistant due to the high silica content of the bamboo.
However, due to its consistency, it can be difficult to work with. It cannot be readily nailed — pre-drilling and screwing are recommended for assembly — and very sharp saws are recommended for any cutting. Lumboo pieces are also smaller than comparable dimensional lumber. The distributor for Lumboo is a bamboo fencing company, and the primary uses for Lumboo is for fence posts and rails, but other uses for the material are certainly possible.
Importing bamboo long distances may not be as desirable as using more locally supplied wood, but the tradeoffs between harvesting impact and transport impact may tip the scales toward using bamboo materials in some cases, even if they need to be transported from farther away.

 

Sun-Powered Bamboo House Sprouts at Solar Decathlon Europe

by Brit Liggett

Tonji University Shanghai’s Bamboo House at the European Solar Decathlon is a beautiful sun-powered abode inspired by nature. It has two elegant sloping roofs and is almost entirely constructed from bamboo. Its impressive solar array generates 9 kilowatts of electricity which powers its one bedroom, one living room layout. We love how the house combines traditional Chinese architecture with state of the art technology — it has temperature and humidity control systems, high-level thermal insulation systems, and a bamboo enclosed garden.

   

Tonji University’s team has 20 members and is composed of doctors, postgraduates, and undergraduate students who range across many disciplines — from architecture and urban planning to energy development. They hope that their solar-powered house can help promote their forward-thinking ideas aboutrenewable energy use in residential urban areas. The team has spent six months designing and constructing the house from scratch and they are hoping their hard work will pay off. Structurally, the house is strongly influenced by traditional Chinese architecture but with a tinge of the efficient look of contemporary architecture.
The Solar Decathlon Europe kicked off with a bang today and Inhabitat is on the scene to provide a first peek at the amazing sun-powered architecture on display. The European Solar Decathlon is the sister of the US Solar Decthalon — which we covered in Washington DC this past October — and was organized in a partnership between Government of Spain’s Ministry of Housing and the United States Government. The decathlon is taking place all through next week in Madrid, so stay tuned to Inhabitat as we bring you a front seat view of all the action!

 

Beautiful Bamboo Living Houses Take Two Days to Build

by Jorge Chapa

Our fascination with prefab buildings knows no bounds — but add bamboo to the mix and you’ve really got our attention. These two beautiful houses in Hawaii were recently built using bamboo as the main building material. The total construction time? Two days.

  

The Hawaiian houses were designed by David Sands of Bamboo Living Homes. The owners decided on Bamboo because it is lightweight, incredibly strong, and a rapidly renewable material. The company designed the houses, assembled them in Vietnam, and then shipped them to Hawaii to be set up on-site. The company has been building bamboo houses for 14 years, but these two were by far the fastest builds they’ve every assembled.
Sustainably-sourced bamboo is one of the best green building materials around. It’s as strong as timber, grows quicker, and looks fantastic. Combining this versatile material with prefab construction strikes us as a great green idea