U.S. Bamboo house of the future : standardizing ecological living

This thesis focuses on ecological living through the use of bamboo. It explores how the material can be used for methods of prefabricated housing design within the United States. It also uses a "ht of parts" and describes two examples that exemplify good use of bamboo. While bamboo is increasingly being used as a source of material in many applications, including elements such as flooring, decorative elements, and even semi conductors, it has not been used as a structural material in the United States, where most built projects are created using a wood frame structure. Bamboo has several advantages as a green machine that can positively influence our lives. Some of these advantages include its high strength to weight ratio which is comparable to that of steel and wood. Bamboo's short duration allows for renewable architecture to turn over more rapidly. New technologies have overcome previous problems such as the susceptibility to termite attacks and weaknesses in joint connections. This thesis intends to revise the idea of ecological living in the United States that integrates bamboo into housing construction. There are three main parts in this thesis: the first is to explore the aesthetics of bamboo structures. The second will take a look at the workings of joinery systems that appeal to the U.S. market. By synthesizing all my findings from the research literature, a city dwelling habitat would be designed through the use of a "kit of parts" innovation.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Architecture.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2006

Author dc:creator

• Wong, Lucy Lai

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Andrew Scott.

• Architecture.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/35508

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/35508