Digital workflow for the design, construction and management of natural bamboo pole structures

The ever-growing global urbanisation has been lately associated with a negative environmental impact caused by the energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions that the building industry has been responsible for. To turn the tide, the building industry needs to transition from industrialised, non-renewable materials, to natural, sustainable and renewable ones. Bamboo poles are currently the most promising resource due to their relatively good environmental credentials, in comparison with industrialised materials. However, there are significant technical challenges that have prevented bamboo poles from their formal integration into the building industry. One of the main challenges is associated with the inherent variability of the geometric, physical and mechanical properties and the impact that this produces on the reliability of bamboo structures. This research focuses on the development of a digital workflow that tackles the inherent variability of bamboo poles through the quantification of material properties on every single pole and thus, provides the fundamental basis to ensure structural reliability. Reverse engineering methodologies supported by modern digital technologies, such as 3D scanners and robotic fabrication, were developed to intensively measure the geometric, physical and mechanical properties of a stock of bamboo poles, regardless their species, age or size. These methodologies were then integrated and implemented into a proof-of-concept digital workflow that quantifies the variability and uses the resulting data to design and construct a reciprocal frame bamboo structure. This research sets out the initial steps towards an alternative approach that allows the design and construction of reliable bamboo structures through the management of their digital data, which in turn, will allow bamboo poles to competing with industrialised construction materials.