Students complete European first build of bamboo structure

Students complete ‘European first’ build of innovative bamboo structure
The design could be used to create sustainable large span roofs in future

A project to build Europe’s first bamboo-timber composite gridshell at Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) has been successfully completed.

The 9×8 metre structure was put up in just four days by a team of 31 visiting students from the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi) in an engineering lab at ENU’s Merchiston campus.

The team used cutting-edge design and construction methods, including augmented reality technology to visualise the plans in real time.

Project leaders hope to now replicate it at a larger scale, allowing researchers to investigate the use of bamboo-timber gridshells as a sustainable building design, and to train construction professionals.

Known for their structural efficiency and aesthetic appeal, gridshells are curved, shell-like structures made from an interconnected grid pattern.

Experts believe their design – which makes the most of bamboo’s strengths as a sustainable building material – could be used to create large-span roofs.

This latest effort follows the construction of a similar structure in China by a team of ENU students last year.

Professor Johnson Zhang, Head of international for Edinburgh Napier’s School of Computing, Engineering & the Built Environment, led the project. He said: “The construction has gone really well. The last time we did something like this in China it took a month – so it has taken a huge effort to get it all done in four days.

“We were delighted to welcome the students to Edinburgh for the project. They have all learned a lot from the process, as have we.

“Using the technology allowed us to monitor the construction, so we could make changes and corrections in real time during the build. It has huge potential in the industry.

“It’s the first time something like this has been done in Europe, and we’re hoping to create an even bigger gridshell here in future.

“We first demonstrated the idea behind bamboo-timber gridshells at COP26 in Glasgow, and this is another step in the journey to realise its potential.”

As well as ENU and THEi, the project backed by the Construction Industry Council of Hong Kong and the British Council, alongside partners: Built Environment – Smarter Transformation, Xylotek – Advanced Timber, Glenalmond Timber, and Intelligent Wood Systems.

A group of academics from the Department of Architecture of Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology (IMUST) also came to Edinburgh to support the construction.

The finished structure was shown off during a closing ceremony for visiting partners at Merchiston. Plans are underway to develop bamboo-timber gridshell technology further at Edinburgh Napier University.