DURABILITY OF WHOLE CULM BAMBOO: FACTS, MISCONCEPTIONS AND THE NEW ISO 22156 FRAMEWORK

Durability of bamboo is one of the most important aspects to consider when designing and building with this nature-based material. Durable structures with bamboo are resilient, cost-effective and have a lower whole life-cycle environmental impact. This paper firstly reviews the main causes of decay of
bamboo: beetle, termite and fungal, and then discussed the efficacy of different treatments – both traditional and modern. Common misconceptions around the durability of bamboo and its preservation methods are corrected. Finally, the recently published framework for durability of bamboo within ISO 22156 – Bamboo Structures, based on Use Classes, is presented.