Architects urged to make schools, airports, towers bamboo-ready

This post summarizes a recent push by structural engineers for architects to become “bamboo-ready”. It explains the Institution of Structural Engineers’ new manual for designing permanent buildings using bamboo. The post also highlights real-world projects and research showing bamboo’s performance. It outlines why adopting bamboo is an important strategy for low-carbon, resilient construction.

Why engineers are asking architects to prepare for bamboo

After 30 years working in architecture and engineering, I can say the conversation about alternative materials has reached a turning point. The Institution of Structural Engineers has published a practical manual to make engineered bamboo a mainstream option for permanent buildings.

The manual’s goal is to equip engineers and architects with the technical knowledge to design safe, durable, and low-carbon bamboo buildings using local resources. This initiative also addresses gaps left by historical biases in engineering education.

The environmental and practical case for bamboo

Bamboo delivers fast renewability and carbon benefits. Unlike timber that can take decades to mature, many bamboo species reach maturity in three to six years.

That rapid growth makes bamboo an attractive renewable resource and a potential carbon store when used in stable building elements. The construction industry produced roughly one-third of global carbon emissions in 2022, with cement and cement-like materials responsible for more than half of that total.

Bamboo offers a clear route to cut embodied carbon when used in place of or alongside traditional materials.

Performance, resilience, and biodiversity gains

Practical demonstrations around the world are already proving bamboo’s value. Notable examples include the bamboo ceiling and pillars at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda Airport Terminal 2 and the 20-metre Ninghai bamboo tower in China.

The Green School gymnasium in Bali is another example. In Colombia and the Philippines, composite bamboo shear walls have shown resilience to earthquakes and extreme weather.

These projects support sustainably sourced, disaster-resilient housing initiatives. Bamboo cultivation can also restore soils degraded by monocultures, with generally low needs for pesticides and fertilizers.

This makes bamboo an appealing choice for regenerative land-use strategies tied to construction supply chains.

Design limits and realistic expectations

It is important to be candid about bamboo’s limitations. Most engineered bamboo systems are best suited to buildings up to two storeys.

For taller structures, conventional materials and systems remain necessary. Bamboo can perform many of the same structural and architectural functions as timber for low-rise construction.

Engineered bamboo—when properly designed and detailed—offers reliable durability and load-bearing capacity. It should be treated like any engineered product, with attention to connection design, moisture protection, and quality control during manufacturing and construction.

Practical implications for architects and educators

Design teams should start by becoming familiar with the new manual. They should also seek local case studies and suppliers.

Engineers like David Trujillo (lead author of the manual) emphasize empowering professionals to use local materials. They aim to close educational gaps that persisted under colonial technical curricula.

This is both a technical and equity-centered agenda.

Neil Thomas of Atelier One points out that bamboo can act as both a functional material and a design inspiration. Bamboo encourages low-carbon creativity in projects.

The authors of the manual hope its adoption will influence university curricula. They want future architects and engineers to graduate with bamboo competence built in.

For firms ready to act, consider these first steps:

Becoming bamboo-ready is not just about a new material choice. It is about embracing a shift toward resilient, low-carbon construction that leverages local ecosystems and knowledge.

 
Here is the source article for this story: Schools, airports, high-rise towers: architects urged to get ‘bamboo-ready’