Rethinking Bamboo Architecture as a Sustainable Alternative for Developing Countries

The potential of bamboo as a sustainable material of construction for developing countries is examined through the work of contemporary leading South American architects Juvenal Baracco (b.1940) and Simón Vélez (b.1949). Whereas Baracco draws inspiration from Pre-Columbian and Spanish colonial traditions of quincha architecture, Vélez takes full advantage of the structural properties of the Guadua angustifolia, creating daring monumental structures of unsurpassed beauty. Light and flexible, yet stronger than steel, this bamboo resists well the stresses buildings face during earthquakes. Both Baracco and Vélez combine tradition and modernity through the use of renewable and sustainable natural resources of rapid growth and outstanding environmental and aesthetic qualities that offer great economic possibilities for diverse regions around the world.