Editing Bamboo (section)

==== Construction ====
{{further|Bamboo construction}}
Bamboo, like true [[wood]], is a natural [[building material]] with a high strength-to-weight ratio useful for structures.<ref name="Lakkad">{{cite journal |title=Mechanical properties of bamboo, a natural composite |last1=Lakkad |last2=Patel |journal=Fibre Science and Technology |volume=14 |issue=4 |date=June 1981 |pages=319–322 |doi=10.1016/0015-0568(81)90023-3}}</ref> In its natural form, bamboo as a construction material is traditionally associated with the cultures of South Asia, East Asia, and the South Pacific, to some extent in Central and South America, particularly in Colombia and Ecuador,<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cabrera-Andrade |first=César Andrés |last2=Jaramillo-Benavides |first2=Andrea Salomé |date=2024-12-13 |title=Optimización constructiva de paneles de bambú para vivienda: estudio comparativo de casos |url=https://www.camjol.info/index.php/arquitectura/article/view/19062 |journal=Revista Arquitectura + |language=es |volume=9 |issue=18 |pages=103–117 |doi=10.5377/arquitectura.v9i18.19062 |issn=2518-2943|doi-access=free }}</ref> and by extension in the aesthetic of [[Tiki culture]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dao |first=Thomas |title=Historical Uses of Bamboo: From Ancient Times to Modern Day |url=https://vanglung.com/historical-uses-of-bamboo-from-ancient-times-to-modern-day/ |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=Vang Lung Rattan |language=en}}</ref>

In China and India, bamboo was used to hold up [[simple suspension bridge]]s, either by making cables of split bamboo or twisting whole culms of sufficiently pliable bamboo together. One such bridge in the area of Qian-Xian is referenced in writings dating back to 960 AD and may have stood since as far back as the third century BC, due largely to continuous maintenance.{{citation needed|date=January 2018}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Maheshwari |first=Rohit |date=2019 |title=Comparison of bonding behaviour of bamboo reinforcement in concrete beam using bonding material |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357932584 |journal=International Journal of Engineering Science and Computing |volume=9 |issue=5 |pages=21937 |via=Research Gate}}</ref>

[[File:Usage of Bamboo.JPG|thumb|right|Bamboo has long been used as an assembly material in [[Hong Kong]] because of its versatility]]
Bamboo has also long been used as scaffolding; the practice has been banned in China for buildings over six stories, but is still in continuous use for skyscrapers in Hong Kong.<ref name="nytimes">{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Landler |title=Hong Kong Journal; For Raising Skyscrapers, Bamboo Does Nicely |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/27/world/hong-kong-journal-for-raising-skyscrapers-bamboo-does-nicely.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=27 March 2002 |access-date=12 August 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090424015547/http://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/27/world/hong-kong-journal-for-raising-skyscrapers-bamboo-does-nicely.html |archive-date=24 April 2009}}</ref>

[[File:Sangat Resort in Busuanga.jpg|thumb|left|A modern resort guesthouse in [[Palawan]], Philippines, with traditional woven bamboo walls ([[sawali]])]]
In the Philippines, the [[nipa hut]] is a fairly typical example of the most basic sort of [[house|housing]] where bamboo is used; the walls are split and woven bamboo, and bamboo slats and poles may be used as its support.

In [[Japanese architecture]], bamboo is used primarily as a supplemental or decorative element in buildings such as fencing, fountains, grates, and gutters, largely due to the ready abundance of quality timber.<ref name="BambooJapan">{{cite book
|author1=Nancy Moore Bess
|author2=Bibi Wein
|title=Bamboo in Japan
|publisher=Kodansha International
|year=1987
|isbn=978-4-7700-2510-4
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UukQ2LaaP0wC&pg=PA101
|page=101
}}</ref>

Many ethnic groups in remote areas that have water access in Asia use bamboo that is 3–5 years old to make rafts. They use 8 to 12 poles, {{convert|6|–|7|m|ft|0|abbr=on}} long, laid together side by side to a width of about {{convert|1|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. Once the poles are lined up together, they cut a hole crosswise through the poles at each end and use a small bamboo pole pushed through that hole like a screw to hold all the long bamboo poles together. Floating houses use whole bamboo stalks tied together in a big bunch to support the house floating in the water.