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Bali’s 'magic' bamboo homes [video]

bbc.com

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

#41

Post by pseudolus »

rytor718 wrote: post #35
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.

It's very similar to the work of Shigeru Ban who has done a lot of work with paper tubes and timber. Some of his work is visually spectacular. There are some photos on his wikipedia profile.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shigeru_Ban

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

#42

Post by xae342 »

rytor718 wrote: post #35
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.

It’s Indonesia, engineer doesn’t really mean what we think in the west. It’s more that someone is passionate about something, not that they have a civil engineering degree and are building to some code. There are engineers like we’d think in Indonesia of course, but they’re unlikely to work on a western lady’s pet project and are going to be a lot more expensive.

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

#43

Post by learc83 »

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…

Houses in the US are usually built with wood beams that are very variable in structural characteristics. Whole bamboo is probably more variable, but this isn't an insurmountable problem.

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

#44

Post by everyone »

greggyb wrote: post #38
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.

Structural engineers are weird. They want to be able to guarantee that a structure can withstand a certain load. Eg. They'll calculate the maximum load the floors will take (eg. if its an office and filled with filing cabinets) and then multiply that by a safety factor of 10 and design the structure to support that, at the very least. They'll probably make it even stronger so the structure never even flexes (which is not unsafe but it can just unsettle people)

The goal is, it is impossible for this structure to fail under any likely conditions, so eg. any kind of wind load thats been experienced in so many decades.

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

#45

Post by crishoj »

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.

The particular style of the house in the video is just one many possible designs. I’m sure there’s nothing to stop one from using bamboo in a more calculated design.

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

#46

Post by crishoj »

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...

This is a valid critique of the design of that particular building, but not of bamboo as a building material.

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

#47

Post by crishoj »

thegabez wrote: post #14

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

Bamboo is already incredibly strong as it is. The main concerns seem not to be about bamboo’s strength, but rather it’s susceptibility to insect attacks.

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

#48

Post by ForHackernews »

xae342 wrote: post #42
rytor718 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It’s Indonesia, engineer doesn’t really mean what we think in the west. It’s more that someone is passionate about something, not that they have a civil engineering degree and are building to some code. There are engineers like we’d think in Indonesia of course, but they’re unlikely to work on a western lady’s pet project and are going to be a lot more expensive.

So more like a software "engineer" ?

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

#50

Post by ForHackernews »

SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #40
jws wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

I believe only female mosquitoes bite humans.

http://www.cmcd.org/biology-2/mosquito-myths-facts/

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