John Naylor

How architects can increase the use of full-culm bamboo to provide adequate urban housing in tropical developing economies

Globally, one in eight people live in non-adequate housing. Tropical developing economies are some of the most vulnerable societies to natural disasters, they are urbanising rapidly and produce a range of natural materials which can be used in construction. Full culm bamboo is the natural unprocessed form of bamboo, one of the fastest growing natural construction materials with good tensile and compressive properties. This project will identify the factors which currently prevent bamboo being widely used in housing in tropical developing economies studying societal attitudes, material inconsistencies, current construction practices and the roles architects play. This is followed by a participatory design process, the construction of and the evaluation of an in-use, model adequate house which utilises full-culm bamboo in an urban site.

Supervisors: Ben Bridgens, Sarah Dunn