Algorithmic thinking to promote full-culm bamboo durability in architectural design

Abstract

Full-culm bamboo is a fast growing, strong, environmentally sustainable construction material. Inappropriate use of bamboo in buildings results in physical degradation. This leads to negative societal perceptions and an underutilisation of this construction material. Design professionals have a role in changing attitudes to bamboo through the exemplar and appropriate specification in their designs. Bamboo-growing, tropical low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are some of the poorest and most vulnerable societies to natural disasters, and by 2050 the tropics will be home to one half of humanity. In order to build the required buildings without negative environmental impact, a diversification of materials will be required, and locally available bio-based materials can supplement existing practice. This research identifies the poor natural durability of bamboo as a key reason for negative societal perceptions and argues that many mainstream architectural design methods and tools pose limitations to design for full-culm bamboo. Quantitative surveys with construction industry professionals and students working in bamboo growing regions were employed, followed by qualitative interviews with Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Case study research in Colombia, paired with a literature review, examined best practices and revealed how poor natural durability can manifest. Design guidance for durability in ISO 22156 (2021) is synthesised in this research along with the methods and tools used by design professionals, including algorithmic design tools, in a novel design approach for bamboo structures. Using algorithmic thinking for protection by design, this design approach can be applied to analogue design methods or scripted digitally. A symposium set evaluation criteria for this design approach, identifying Haiti’s construction sector as a tropical LMIC context. The research proposes that supporting design professionals to make durability a key consideration in early design stages, can increase the service-life and status of bamboo structures, and promote greater use of locally available bio-based materials in construction.