Bamboo Gridshells

This highly illustrated text brings together two areas which have both grown in popularity in recent years: gridshells and bamboo. Bamboo is a fast-growing, naturally available, renewable resource which is quite strong and lends itself to structural applications. In this unique text, David Rockwood demonstrates the viability of bamboo as a building material and considers the advantages as well as the challenges of working with bamboo. Its properties, workability, connections, assembly, erection processes, structural behavior, and final use are explored in detail through a series of design-build experiments and case studies from Hawaii and Vietnam. The only book available on the subject, Bamboo Gridshells provides a comprehensive introduction to this emerging technology which will be of interest to anyone working in the areas of sustainable or environmental design, ecological construction, low technology strategies, or alternative materials.