Irregular Architecture: The Possibility of Systems Thinking for Bamboo Architecture

Bamboo is a material that has been used for thousands of years in a wide variety of cultures distributed throughout the world in different geographic and climatic settings (Clark et al (2015) Bamboo Taxonomy and Habitat). The availability of standardized, more durable industrial products has led to the displacement of bamboo within communities with a history of bamboo use (Sharma (2010) Seismic Performance of Bamboo Structures). Research has sought to recontextualize the architectural use of bamboo from vernacular material to modern construction product, citing the sustainable, structural, and social benefits of working with bamboo (Van der Lugt (2017) Booming bamboo: the (Re)discovery of a sustainable material with endless possibilities). However, it is faced by a seemingly insolvable conundrum; how do you standardize an irregular material to meet the regulatory and structural requirements of a modern building industry? The focus of this paper is to posit an alternative question; does bamboo need to be standardized? By examining the different ways bamboo has been used in vernacular cultures and in contemporary design, the paper will highlight systems and methodologies that respond to the irregularity of bamboo, focusing on both architectural systems and broader socio-technical responses to working with bamboo. It is an area of research currently unexplored and presents a novel approach to architecture where systemization allows for a flexibility that can account for non-standardized materials.