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Bali’s 'magic' bamboo homes [video]

bbc.com

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Re: Bali’s 'magic' bamboo homes [video]

#31

Post by SlowRobotAhead »

victor106 wrote: post #26
IdontRememberIt wrote: post #17

Having been in SE Asia and Bali many times and seen how they spray chemicals against insects... I wonder how they handle that in the middle of the forest... I would never go there without an independant assessment... I love the design but I prefer something closed and airconditionned (mosquitos). Mosquitos are a major issue (even in cities): https://www.nea.gov.sg/our-services/pest-control/mosquito-co...

I agree...it’s beautiful and makes you get a real sense of the nature that surrounds you but from a practical and being widely used perspective there are a lot more problems to be solved.

Trash. That was the craziest thing to see in Indonesia. There is just so little trash service that dumping it behind your house and burning it now and then is just how it is. Which if it was just Bali might be overlookable but Indonesia is the close to population of the entire USA.

Re: Bali’s 'magic' bamboo homes [video]

#32

Post by pseudolus »

cedex12 wrote: post #11

What kind of treatment are they talking about?

I believe they treat the bamboo with a borax solution. The designer gave a TED talk that goes into more depth.

https://www.ted.com/talks/elora_hardy_magical_houses_made_of... (treatment method is mentioned at: 4:08 into talk).

Re: Bali’s 'magic' bamboo homes [video]

#34

Post by SlowRobotAhead »

aquamo wrote: post #24
thegabez wrote: post #14

Since bamboo is hollow could filling the bamboo with concrete be used to reinforce and increase its load bearing strength?

My guess is no. Concrete fails under tension and with the irregular and natural assembly process the structure probably would have issues with tension and all the extra weight. The cost of filling each bamboo void would also make it costly and less renewable. My gut feeling.

Maybe, but the real reason you don’t fill bamboo isn’t entirely hollow. It’s just got individual hollow segments.

Re: Bali’s 'magic' bamboo homes [video]

#35

Post by rytor718 »

xae342 wrote: post #27

They look nice, but I can’t help question how safe they really are, they’re more like giant baskets woven together by artists as opposed to calcuated engineering by engineers.

Can you explain how this is not "calculated engineering by engineers"? My impression from the video is that these are architects and engineers building these.

Re: Bali’s 'magic' bamboo homes [video]

#37

Post by SlowRobotAhead »

jibolso wrote: post #9

This is good design thinking and implementation. My only question would be the susceptibility to fire, any thoughts on this?

Bamboo doesn’t burn well. Often used for cooking because you can throw it in the fire letting food cook inside it. I really liked native dishes that had bamboo cooked chicken.

Re: Bali’s 'magic' bamboo homes [video]

#38

Post by greggyb »

everyone wrote: post #23

Every bamboo pole is different.. For this reason bamboo could never fit into modern engineering practices. Engineers use things like I-beams because, (in theory) each one is the same and they have been tested (probably millions of times) Their structural characteristics are known. So an engineer can sign off on a building and the team can get architectural indemnity insurance. Bamboo, and also things like using the e…

Don't we deal with the variability of natural products in lots of places by grading? This example is not structural, but every piece of beef has a USDA grade.

I think it is a matter of coming up with a standard (maybe it is imaging each piece of bamboo) means of categorizing the qualities of concern, and then selling in grades. Each grade would indicate a minimum quality or set of qualities.

Re: Bali’s 'magic' bamboo homes [video]

#39

Post by xae342 »

SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #29
pseudolus wrote: post #5

It's an amazing building material and there have been a number of recent articles that have highlighted its use as scaffolding material that can be built up to several hundred feet high. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2290166/Hong-Kongs-...

In regards to very tall bamboo scaffolding... A related side topic here might include near famous Indonesian disregard for safety - or at least willingness to overlook it. One of the reasons I was told that by Indonesian workers in Malaysia, whom there are many of. They’re willing to work cheaper and do more dangerous jobs. KL in particular has a ton of skyscraper work being done by Indonesians and I saw first hand t…

I’ve been told by Indonesians their style is to dive head first into the water, then check for rocks. Yes safety is a big issue there and causes a huge amount of needless suffering.

Re: Bali’s 'magic' bamboo homes [video]

#40

Post by SlowRobotAhead »

jws wrote: post #25
choot wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've always wondered why there aren't lasers which can shoot down mosquitoes on its own.

There is a company working on it… https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosquito_laser The current plan is a ‘fence’ which will detect, identify, and kill 50 mosquitos per second. It can be tuned to only kill female mosquitos of the malaria carrying species measuring reflectivity and wing beat frequency. They speculate it could cost $50 for a 30 meter fence. Looks like the company is targeting citrus pests in order to get…

Why on earth would you target only female mosquitos!? The males are rare and required to make more females. Seems like you would want to blast away with indifference.

Yes, I am aware the females bite. Males are much more rare, is the goal individual death or is it population control?

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