Did you know in the Far East such as India, Hong Kong and China uses bamboo as scaffolding material rather than steel and aluminium? For over 5000 years bamboo has played a significant role in the economic and cultural role of China. Even in Hong Kong today it is common to see bamboo scaffolding wrapping their modern glass and steel structures like a spider web. Not only is bamboo scaffolding durable and robust, it is also economical due to its cheap price and fast construction time. It is much more environmentally friendly than steel since it is a natural material, therefore it doesn’t cause pollution to product and could be disposed effectively through decomposition.
When workers start building they would initially build the scaffold around the site no matter how big or tall the building would be. Bamboo is significantly lighter than metal so no machineries are required to put up. At the end of the project builders will start from the top to dismantle the bamboo skeleton as they prepare to move to another job and recycle the bamboo. Unlike the modern western scaffolding which utilises metal couplers to hold the fittings together, bamboo scaffolding is held together using nylon straps tied into knots as couplers.
There is also something called “Bamboo Metal Hybrid Scaffolding” combining the best features of both components, having the robustness of bamboo with the reinforced safety of metal installations. Metal scaffolding is used in the early stages to build a strong foundation so workers can move equipment and materials around. Than bamboo is used to extend the existing structure to be cost effectively and at the same time it adds little additional weight thus putting less pressure on the foundation. As bamboo is easy to put-up, it gives the material the flexibility to adapt to the dynamic environment of a building site.
Bamboo is also used as a building material. In Japanese architecture, bamboo are often added as a decorative aspect to buildings such as gates, gutters, fountains, window, doors, since in the Far East there has a scarce amount of construction quality timber. In China bamboo has been used to build suspension bridges, bamboos are twisted together to create cables to strengthen the structure. Bamboo can be used as reinforcements to concrete in areas of abundant amount of bamboo, its effectiveness is questionable but it does have the strength to uphold this function. However untreated bamboo can swell from absorbing water from the concert and eventually cracking.
Lastly the Chinese believe bamboo possesses good Feng Shui properties providing the owner with good luck and wealth along with positive energy. I cant make the connection but if it is your cup of tea, go for it!
