Bamboo structures in Colombia

Colombia has a long tradition in the structural use of bamboo and is the unlikely source of some of the world’s most magnificent bamboo structures. This paper starts by examining the structural properties of Guadua angustifolia Kunth, the bamboo species that has significantly influenced both past and present Colombian architecture. It then covers some of the developments in the emerging field of bamboo engineering, focusing on the structural research made in recent years including the development of possibly the first bamboo design code. David Trujillo, MSc, DIC, Civil Eng Associate Director, CCB Evolution