The world’s first tall building made of engineered bamboo

At Zhejiang University in China, a 6-storey building is constructed, consisting of mostly engineered bamboo, the first multi-storey building of this material.

The building has a total hight of 20.3 metres and a floor area of 720 square metres. The first two floors are made out of concrete, but the rest consists for the most part of engineered bamboo, including laminated bamboo (glubam). The bamboo species used is moso (Phyllostachys edulis), a type of giant timber bamboo which can reach a height of 28 meters.

For the construction, laminated beams and sheet materials are used for the post-and-beam construction, floors, walls, and carrier beams for the floors and roof. The wall elements have been reinforced with steel. Other engineered bamboo materials have also been used, as well as wood.

The building was made as a proof-of-concept for the use of engineered bamboo materials in construction by Zhejiang University and University of Illinois.

Photos: Eric Rupert, Altplus