02 Home & Garden
Bamboo for building, furniture design and landscaping
By Maura Taylor. Photo by Catherine Krantz
Bamboo is one of the fastest growing grassy plants on this planet. It’s also plentiful in tropical areas such as Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. Locally grown and cultivated, its uses are many. A viable replacement for wood, bamboo is one of the strongest building materials. Unlike hardwood trees, which, once cut, are gone forever, bamboo renews itself readily. It is an endlessly renewable resource. Ply bamboo can be used for wall paneling, floor tiles, raw material for housing construction, and rebar for reinforced concrete beams. Bamboo can be essential in landscape design, as it grows quickly and its diversity (over 1,000 species of bamboo on earth) allows it to adapt to most any environment.
As a building material
Bamboo is one of the oldest construction materials. As infill for flooring or walls, bamboo provides a good insulating material and is often used for load-bearing structural elements because of it’s high tensile strength, which is higher than steel. As bamboo has a low-weight, it’s very easy to work and transport. Its elasticity makes it an attractive building material in earth-quake endangered zones and because of its high content of silicate acid, it can withstand temperatures of 400 degrees Celsius, making it practically fire-resistant. Bamboo can be worked with the simplest of tools, as long as they are kept sharp in order to slice through the thick outer layer. Roofing and shingles made from bamboo shavings have a thick layer and are exceptionally wind and rain proof.
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As furniture and design elements
The delicate grain of the bamboo, whether natural or amber-toned, makes it a distinctive, elegant, and subtle material for fine furniture, flooring and decor. Bamboo can withstand a great deal of use without damage. It’s stronger even than oak, considered the most durable hardwood. When laminated, bamboo is nearly as strong as soft steel. Bamboo doesn’t swell or shrink as hardwoods do, making it ideal for furniture and floors.
Landscaping with bamboo
Bamboo is not a tree—it’s a grass, and it grows like one. Many species of bamboo can grow two feet or more a day. When it’s harvested, it need not be replanted, because it will grow a new shoot from its extensive root system. It enhances the environment, stabilizes the earth with its roots, preventing erosion. It takes in greenhouse gasses and produces oxygen, 35% more oxygen than an equivalent stand of trees. It can also provide habitat for birds and animals.
Where can you find Bamboo locally?
At the corner of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios and Adelita streets is a small workshop where bamboo stalks and rattan are transformed into furniture, home accessories all made to your custom specifications. The owner, Hannibal Galeana Solis, has been crafting diverse handmade pieces of furniture over the past eight years. He and his skilled craftsman have created furnishings for local clients as well as for customers across the country. Hannibal also repairs or replaces worn out rattan and will fashion bamboo and rattan into practically anything his customers request.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Maura Taylor lives in Zihua and serves as intermediary and design consultant for home remodeling, restoration and condo finishing projects in Zihua and the surrounds. She can be reached by phone or email: zihua cell# (755) 556-2624 or destinozihua@gmail.com
