Energy Efficient Bamboo House | Mauricio Cárdenas Laverde Studio Cardenas Conscious Design
Zhenjiang / China / 2017
With a rapidly growing economy, and as the world's most populous nation, China faces great stresses on its resources and environment. China therefore presents a paradigmatic test case for environmental sustainability in the 21st Century. The opportunity to design an Energy Efficient Bamboo House in Baoxi 宝溪乡 浙江省for International Bamboo Biennale in the context of the new policies for sustainable growth of China, is very current and important other than interesting and challenging!
Our proposal explores the potentiality of minimize carbon emissions, to maximize environmental protection and natural ecological development through the use of the natural elements available at Baoxi area, such as sun, water, plants, wind and natural materials to achieve a high standard innovative house for the Chinese context.
Bamboo is the plant that absorbs the most carbon dioxide during its life cycle, it is ready to be used for construction in about 3 years and grows much faster than any tree species. Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency shows that China has already become the predominant source of carbon dioxide, the main global warming emission. The use of bamboo in this context is very current, especially because the site is near to the Forest Sea of Zhenjiang, therefore bamboo is a natural resource of Baoxi Longquan. For the structure of the Energy Efficient Bamboo House we explored new ways of building using bamboo as a construction material.
Sustainability for us is not only the use of natural materials such as bamboo but to design appropriate construction solutions.
Based on our experience we approached sustainability by:
- Designing dry-mounted connections not to weaken bamboo through perforation nor fill it in with concrete, and also to allow the replacement of bamboo poles if needed;
- Designing aluminum connections light and easy to assemble in order that the construction can be done by local workers;
- Using same length of bamboo poles to achieve standardization and best quality control;
- Combining bamboo (vegetable steel) and steel to create an industrialized construction system;
- Applying a precise geometry (Golden proportion - Aurea) to achieve standardization of the pieces, best quality control and harmonic visual impact;
- Using the underground water is for the house the most interesting and sustainable solution, using a geothermal heat pump, which cools as well as heats the house using as least non-renewal energy as possible;
- Apply Feng Shui basic concepts during design, starting from Bagua we organized the spaces of the house in order to offer the best orientation for improving life by receiving positive energy (Qi).
With a rapidly growing economy, and as the world's most populous nation, China faces great stresses on its resources and environment. China therefore presents a paradigmatic test case for environmental sustainability in the 21st Century. The opportunity to design an Energy Efficient Bamboo House in Baoxi 宝溪乡 浙江省for International Bamboo Biennale in the context of the new policies for sustainable growth of China, is very current and important other than interesting and challenging! Our proposal...
- Year 2017
- Work started in 2014
- Work finished in 2017
- Client Artspring Shanghai
- Contractor Kangye Design and Construction Company
- Status Completed works
- Type Single-family residence
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