Sustainable Architecture Creating Arches Using a Bamboo Grid Shell Structure: Numerical Analysis and Design

Abstract

Bamboo is known as a sustainable alternative for green building design, and it has been tied culturally to some regions around the world. However, bamboo’s structural strength for different design scenarios needs more investigation before it is widely adopted. Timber and bamboo have similar mechanical properties, but the latter is a repaid, renewable, sustainable, disaster-resilient system and is versatile, which has more advantages for construction purposes. Natural bamboo and its derivatives have been considered as a high-demand green and environmentally responsible alternative construction material, and this interest is increasing globally. Because of the rapid growth rate and large developing area, it is more useable than the limited timber resource. However, natural bamboo has an anisotropic and nonhomogeneous material property, which varies in multiple directions. There is limited engineering data and investigation of bamboo material and its use in and impact on construction. In this study, three different bamboo models were analyzed by Strand7; each of them had different features in structure and in the major construction material. A new model was proposed by improving the three given structures and was maximized in the mechanical capacity. Some design guidelines were proposed based on the analysis and comparison of different bamboo structures. The model will replace natural bamboo with bamboo scrimber, which is an engineered bamboo derivative that has more uniform material properties.