Review on The Use of Bamboo as A Construction Material

Abstract

Bamboo is considered one of the most versatile, sustainable and environment friendly building material. They grow naturally all over the globe but are more abundantly found in the tropical and sub-tropical regions such as Asia, Africa and some parts of America. The social and economic benefits granted by bamboo and its product to the society has been high since time immemorial. On account of this fact, it is widely recognized as one of the most important forest resources. Its compressive strength is higher than that of concrete, brick or wood and its tensile strength is comparable to that of steel. The over consumption of conventional construction material such as steel, bricks has posed serious depletion issues of raw materials. Also, with the global increase in population, it has become a challenge to provide proper housing which is both economical and safe for the common people. In addition, in view of the current tectonic activities around the different parts of the world, Bamboo can serve as an alternative building material to steel reinforcement. This paper studies the results of bamboo reinforced concrete and the performance of housing system where bamboo is used as a chief construction member.