Summary Reader Response Draft 1: Building with Bamboo
In the article, “An Architect’s Guide to Building with Bamboo”, Vadot (n.d) develops the idea of using bamboo as a sustainable material for the future of construction. He mentions that bamboo can mature fast with little maintenance and are being harvested in various places around the world. Being a lightweight material, bamboo is available at a low cost in these areas and is easy to transport. He also notes that while bamboo is often referred to as an alternative for steel, it is quite fragile and requires treatment and protection from various natural circumstances. He concludes that it is hard to normalise bamboo as construction material as it is impossible to classify the 1,200 species under a standardised civil building code. However standards have been made locally in Columbia. While Vadot (n.d) mentions the advantages of using bamboo, he fails to elaborate sufficiently about the disadvantages.
Firstly, Vadot (n.d) only briefly mention that bamboo requires treatment and protection from various natural circumstances. He failed to elaborate on the kind of natural circumstances and how it affects the use of bamboo. From the article “Disadvantage of Bamboo as a Construction Material”, Jason (2016) states that bamboo lifespan can increase by treating it. This allows it to be resistant to fungi, bacteria and insect attacks. The article, “The Pros and Cons of Bamboo in Green Building”, Elemental Green (n.d) further supported it by mentioning that bamboo is highly susceptible to deterioration. If harvested bamboo is not cut, treated and stored properly, insects, fungus, rot and fire can easily take advantage of it due to it’s high starch content. Some manufacturers treat it using harmful chemicals like formaldehyde and arsenic even though there are more natural ways such as air drying or heating.
Secondly, in the article “Bamboo: Alternative Sustainable Tourism for Community Development”, Lara.R and Espinosa,R (2019) stated that bamboo structural behavior varies depending on the place where it was planted and its growing conditions. Elemental Green (n.d) further elaborated on the issue and how the transportation of bamboo became a concern. He states that only bamboo that was grown in places with favorable conditions have the same strength as steel. Bamboo would have to be imported to countries which do not meet the required conditions. This led to the problem of tarnishing bamboo’s eco cred as fossil fuels are burned just to transport it to those countries. However Minke (2012) explained in his article “Building with Bamboo: Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture” that only a small amount of energy is required to transport bamboo using a boat as it is a lightweight material.
Thirdly, Vadot (n.d) did not elaborate sufficiently when he mentioned that it is hard to normalise bamboo as a construction material. Lara.R and Espinosa,R (2019) states that there is no uniform or extended legislation for bamboo. This caused a difficulty in obtaining the permits and structural calculations. Elemental Green (n.d) further added that since there are very little regulations for bamboo, the quality of it may not be easily differentiated. The longevity and quality of the bamboo structure is affected as there is insufficient data on it as a construction material.
Even though there are many advantages to using bamboo as a construction material, there are disadvantages to it as well. Vadot (n.d) should have stated and elaborated on both the advantages and disadvantages sufficiently so that readers are able to weigh the pros and cons before considering whether bamboo is suitable or not for construction. (54 words)
Reference:
Disadvantage of Bamboo as a Construction Material. (2016, May 21). Jasondreamwork.
https://jasondreamwork.wordpress.com/2016/05/21/disadvantage-of-bamboo/
Lara, Rigoberto & Espinosa, Ramón. (2019, July). Bamboo: Alternative sustainable tourism for community development. Researchgate.
Minke.G. (2012, July 18). Building with Bamboo: Design and Technology of a Sustainable Architecture. Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Building-Bamboo-Gernot-Minke/dp/3034607482
The Pros and Cons of Bamboo in Green Building. (n.d). Elemental Green
https://elemental.green/the-pros-and-cons-of-bamboo-in-green-building/
Vadot, C. (n.d) An Architect’s Guide to Building With Bamboo. Architizer. https://architizer.com/blog/practice/details/how-to-bamboo/
Image by Kelly Hart
Thanks for this fine effort, Kai Yee. You have a clear and concise, appropriate summary, a clear thesis and fairly well developed supporting paragraphs with effective topic sentences. I like the deatil of supports. You could work on your in-text citations and end-of-text list. Your tranisiton words for the body paragraphs could be enhanced by making them less predictable, but let's talk about that.
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