BUILDING WITH BAMBOO, CONTINUING A TRADITION IN A

MODERN CONTEXT.

Prasad Jonathan.D.W.
Inspiration, Opp.Bhavan’s Vidya Mandir,
Eroor (W).P.O., Thripunithura, Cochin – 682 306
Kerala, India.

Abstract:

India has a rich tradition of building with Bamboo. With about 125 species spread across
eighteen genera, the availability of bamboo resources in India is the second largest in
the world ranking only behind China. There are about 1,500 documented traditional
uses – from cradle to grave – of bamboo, inclusive of construction.

With the backing of over 20 years of research done in structural application of bamboo
by Shri K.R. Datyea and Shri V.N. Gore of Geo-Science Services, Mumbai, together with
in-house inputs in architectural design, structural RCC and Ferro cement design expert
craftsman and whole construction management team, we at Inspiration have attempted
to make use of this highly renewable and versatile material in today’s context. One of
our earliest usage of bamboo constitutes a bamboo reinforced road-base, covering an
area of 6000 Sqm., at a site with marine clay soil and surrounded by backwaters. Our
other non-building but structural uses of bamboo include a water tank of capacity up to
20,000 liters, Culvert of length 14 m and width 4 m and a retaining walls 3m high for
over 25 m length.

Our own office premises in Cochin, Kerala, covering an area of

2750 Sft, is a first of its kind structure and an experiment where
we have attempted to develop a technology (bamboo and
reinforced plaster) for using bamboo in floors, walls and roofs
in ways that meet our contemporary needs - an effort for which
we have been honoured with the National award by HUDCO. A
Resort at Kumarakom, for Abad Group of Hotels, is the place
where we have attempted to take the afore mentioned
technology to a higher degree of perfection – prefabrication -
where it caters to the high end clients of the tourism industry.
Our next step is in improvising on the prefabrication of wall,
floor and roof bamboo panels, optimizing the properties of the
various components constituting it, to help in our attempt to
bring it into mainstream architecture. This paper outlines in
Above: The administration and detail the design and construction of our office in Ernakulam,
design studio block of the office. Kerala - our first step in the direction of bringing about a
paradigm shift in the use of materials - and the future prospects in front of us.

Key words: Bamboo, renewability and sustainability.

Introduction:

About Inspiration: ‘Inspiration’ creatively combines a group of architects, planners,

infrastructure engineers, structural and construction management personnel, interior
and product designers, administration and finance personnel, horticulturists, trained
artisans and technicians – all under one roof.

With over 18 years of experience in the field of nature friendly designs and
constructions, Inspiration today enjoys a niche clientele in the field - ranging from
individuals, business houses / corporates, Government departments and NGOs - who
aspire for environmentally sensitive habitats/ development.

Our primary objectives as an organization, an eco-sensitive design group are to

ƒ disseminate regional planning concepts to limit urban sprawl; and at same time
preserve and regenerate built and natural heritage.
ƒ pioneer design and development of Walkers' townships, Eco villages, nature
friendly institutions, communities, resorts and residences.
ƒ initiate extensive rain water harvesting and biomass regeneration projects.
ƒ design and commission decentralized solid waste, decentralized sewage and
waste water management systems.
ƒ bring in viable renewable energy applications.
ƒ optimize bio climatic design of buildings and use of low energy local materials.
ƒ anchor investments in high value nature friendly projects.
ƒ adopt internationally accepted design and construction standards.
ƒ give high priority in observing social commitment guidelines with respect to eco-
ratings, disaster preventives, care towards elderly, disabled and the under
privileged.
ƒ evolve and inspire aesthetic standards integrating and balancing all of the above.
Left: Planted gravel filter
at Hotel Sarovaram,
Ernakulam.

Extreme Left: Solar

power for Mitradam
Energy centre,
Ernakulam.

We as a team have been involved in the design and construction of over 400 projects,
over the last 18 years, including individual residences, institutions, hotels and resorts,
community housing, conservation of heritage buildings, water management projects and
walker townships. A significant aspect of our work has been our effort to set up a design
and construction team which can deliver site and need specific nature friendly
developments as a 'customized product'.
 Some of our projects
Left: View of Cottages at Hotel
Sarovaram, Ernakulam,
overlooking the rain water
harvesting lake.

Extreme left: Residence of

Mr.Gopinath, Ernakulam.

Bottom left: ‘Swaswara’ resort at

Gokarna, near Goa.

Below: Office premises of Kerala

Horticulture Development Prog.

Our in house team helps in translating a holistic space design integrating infrastructure
systems, landscape and interiors, with optimum structural systems and be managed and
built within budgets and time lines.

It was in this context that when the time came to build our own office we felt the need to
take a step or join in the direction of bringing about a paradigm shift in the use of
materials from the centrally produced, energy intensive to the locally available,
renewable, non-energy intensive and sustainable. The search brought us to bamboo.

Shri.KR Datye and Shri.Vilas N Gore are structural and

geo-technical engineers based in Mumbai, who have
done over 20 years of research and field tests in
application of bamboo as a structural material. Their
inputs together with in-house inputs in architectural
design, structural RCC and Ferro cement design, and
inputs from our expert craftspersons and whole
construction management team, helped us in our
attempt to make use of this highly renewable and
versatile material in today’s context.
What we wanted was. . .

• to be able to accommodate the whole of our multi-

faceted staff team.
• to retain all the trees in the premises.
• to have optimum natural lighting in every corner
during daytime, and good natural ventilation and
thermal comfort.
• we were clear that what we are trying to achieve is a
modern building, in the sense that it would have to
have all the conveniences, facilities and requirements
that a conventional building of this nature would
have.

We of course had to take a lot of other factors into

consideration. . . Above: The deck and directors cabin.

• the building had to resist 200 kmph cyclonic winds and earth quake of intensity
that can occur in the region.
• weak soil.
• high water table - ground dampness.
• insect, termite and rodent attacks were also to be prevented.
• to satisfactorily meet all of the above requirements at less than market costs
prevalent in our area for a building having so many features.

The Design

The building planning concept is woven around openness in plan that keeps the
communication flowing yet maintains privacy. The orientation of the building is such
that the north east morning winds blowing over the pond gets cooled and flows into
office areas. Passages act as buffer zones stopping the rain and harsh light from entering
workspaces.

Left: Plan of the ground floor of the office

accommodating the reception, a meeting
room, the deck, administration wing and
the pantry.
The layout can be broadly classified into the following spaces.
Public spaces: Reception area acts as a public space linking the entrance and the
workspaces.
Semi private spaces: The deck, pantry and conference act as semi private spaces. These
are places such that they do not disturb the private and executive zones.
Private spaces: The form a link between semi-private and executive spaces. And yet
maintain a level of privacy. It consists of the Administration and Design office.
Executive spaces: This is constituted by the architect’s cabins. They form their own
entity yet get a view of the work spaces.

Left: The first floor plan of the office.

The first floor houses the engineering and the design studio connected by a corridor. At
the center of this corridor is a director’s work space. The staircase part also acts as an
entrance space below.

Above: Sectional view through (from left to right and bottom to top) the administration wing, design studio, the deck and directors
cabins.
 Left: Birds eye view of the whole office complex.

Below: The deck with the director’s cabin above

overlooking the RWH pond.

The Structure

Covering an area of 2750 Sft, our office is probably

the first and largest of its kind and an experiment
where we have attempted to develop a technology
(bamboo and reinforced plaster) for using bamboo in
floors, walls and roofs in ways that meet our
contemporary needs.

Bamboo is used in combination with RCC (columns),

ferro-cement (beams), and a limited quantity of
reinforced plaster so as to arrive at an attractive
functional and replicable combination of
technologies.

It is noteworthy that almost 25% of the bamboo used

in the building was cut from the immediate premises
of the building.

The Foundation

Considering the weak soil and the high water table the structure
stands on column footings about 3 feet deep.

Standing the structure on stilts helped prevent the dampness

from seeping in and also safeguarded the bamboo from termite,
insect and rodent attacks.

The maximum load on a column is 30 KN and an isolated footing

is provided for the foundation.
The Floors, Walls and Roofs

The infill floor, walls and roof of the building are constructed using micro-steel
reinforced mortar bamboo composite.

Large glazed windows are given all along the inward looking walls which give ample
protected lighting and ventilation.

Above: Glazing along inward looking walls.

Left: Micro-steel-reinforced-mortar-bamboo composite wall panel.

The temperature difference between the exterior and the interior averages 4-5 degrees
on a hot summer day.

Finishes

While we have gone in for a predominantly red-oxide finish with stone slab inlays in
certain places for the floor, putty finish over the plastered side of the composite panel
for the walls and a mangalore tiles for the roof, this kind of construction technology
allows for almost any kind of finish desired.

Above left: Red-oxide floor finish;

Above centre: Interior walls finished with putty;
Above right: Mangalore tiles over bamboo roof.
Loading

The dead load of the composite is 1500

N/m2 and the live load is taken as 4000
N/m2.

The building is also analyzed for wind

and earthquake loads. The maximum
load taken by one column is 30 KN and
an isolated footing of size 1m x 1m is
provided to take the load.

The building was monitored for two

years on a weekly basis. Observations
were made in the X, Y and Z axis for
Above: The slender frame of the building. displacement and no displacement was
observed.

Preservative Treatment

All bamboo used on the building has been given preservative treatment.

At the time of construction water based CCA treatment was given. A pressure of 3.5
Kg/cm for one hour was found to be sufficient to achieve a retention of more than 8
Kg/m3 (dry salt) in split bamboo.

Presently we are into Liquid Organic Solvent Preservative (LOSP) cold dip treatment for
in-situ bamboo. It is a non-hazardous trichlorophenol formulation which can be used to
replace water soluble preservatives.

Left: Split bamboo being stacked

for drying in a covered space after
LOSP cold dip.

Extreme left: The LOSP cold dip

tank.

Other Features

Apart from the bamboo structure other features of the office complex include…

An Anaerobic treatment plant (DEWATS) treats the sewage and waste water generated
in the office. The system consists of an anaerobic baffled reactor, planted gravel filter
and polishing pond. The treated water is recycled for gardening.
Rain water is harvested and the pond acts as a beautiful landscape element. Here it is
worth mentioning the method of water proofing for the pond: local clay forms
impermeable lining in wet condition. An LDPE geo-fabric liner protects the clay from
drying, cracking and leaking.

Right: The polishing pond with the

planted gravel filter in the background.

Extreme Right: The rain-water-

harvesting pond as seen from the
viewing deck.

In an attempt to minimize river sand mining and its

consequences, manufactured sand was used instead.

Pre-cast ferro-cement beams have been used as an alternative to RCC. This reduces both
the quantity of steel used and the cost.

Significant Achievements

We found that. . .

Bamboo replaces almost 80% of structural cement and steel, without compromising on
any of the qualities that make use of RCC popular.

The self weight of the building is reduced by around 50% in comparison to a

conventional building of the same nature, which can be very advantageous when used
for a multi-storied building as the basic building frame can be made much lighter.

This technology can, with some more effort, be easily adapted for standardization and
assembly line production of prefabricated components.

Our other projects in Bamboo

This office building of ours is fortunately the first structure in bamboo that we managed
to construct. Having the advantage of an in-house construction and crafts team we were
able to design and execute several other structures in bamboo. Given below are some of
the structures. . .
‘Whispering Palms’ Holiday resort for Abad group of Hotels at
Kumarakom.

Clockwise from above:

1 & 2. Pathway leading to the standard cottages

3. The interior of a standard cottage

4. The out-door toilet of a standard cottage.

5. A pool villa.
Administration Building for Socio Economic Unit Foundation, Alleppey.

SEUF is an NGO working in the field of water and sanitation and this was out first
structure in bamboo having a circular form.

Demonstration buildings for Kerala Forest Research Institute, Nilambur,

Kerala.

View of the complex showing three bamboo buildings each

highlighting a different category of application – residential,
office and medium rise. All components – floors, walls and roofs -
are of bamboo.
Our upcoming projects in Bamboo and our Dream project.

Our upcoming bamboo projects include

• Back Packer Resorts, Alleppey, Kerala. Accomodation for approx 240 back
packers!
• River Valley, Trivandrum, Kerala. An IT office complex! approx 40,000 sft in
area.

We of course are dreaming of the day when we would be commencing the construction a
15 storied high rise building in bamboo.

Conclusion

I would like to conclude giving an example which illustrates the Potential of Bamboo.

Bamboo grows very fast and is highly renewable. To build 1000 houses of bamboo
annually, material may be taken from a 60-hectare bamboo plantation, which can be
replaced in 5-7 years. If an equivalent project used timber, it would require 500 hectares
of forest cover and it would take decades to replace.

Bamboo, unlike cement and steel, helps in decentralizing the construction process’
which has both economic and more importantly ecological advantages.