One laminated bamboo-frame house per hectare per year

This paper presents an outline of a quantitative analysis that demonstrates the global potential of bamboo as a “modern” construction material. The underlying goal is to contribute to a real shift in resource management by focussing on renewable resources in general and on the high brow, modern use of bamboo as an alternative for construction products such as concrete, brick and (hard)wood in particular. The analysis illustrates how laminated bamboo-frame building could be a direct alternative for wood-frame building, bamboo having a great advantage in yearly yield per forest area compared to wood. Current and potential bamboo resources in Colombia are posed against required material volumes for constructing a model house, resulting in a practical and realistic view on bamboo’s global potential on lowering the environmental impact of the built environment.