This article was first published in the September 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online
It's as strong as steel, has the load-bearing capacity of concrete and can grow up to a metre a day, but bamboo has traditionally suffered from one fatal weakness: termites. Bali-based Ibuku Bamboo Architecture and Design uses a boron salt solution to render the wood inedible to insects -- and now it is building an entire village from it. "Bamboo is plentiful across Bali and throughout the tropical regions of the world," explains Ibuku's creative director Elora Hardy. "But most things built out of bamboo in the past have been eaten to dust. Now a bamboo structure can last a lifetime."
Hardy's Green Village follows on from the bamboo Green School (founded by her father John Hardy in 2008), and contains eight homes with two more in progress. Ibuku has also recently completed Sharma Springs, a 750m<sup>2</sup> family home, a yoga pavilion and a riverside spa, and is constructing a second educational campus.
design, the architects begin by building 1:50 scale models from tiny bamboo sticks.
Although such bamboo construction is geographically limited by reliance on local expertise and climate, Ibuku is developing a prefab bamboo home that will be created in Bali then assembled elsewhere. "Ultimately, there will be bamboo buildings in more extreme climates of Europe and America as well," says Hardy. "But we will need to pair it with insulation materials - and give the building-code departments a chance to catch up."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
