Bambooming
Sustainability has been a key word the last few centuries. Everywhere, products with a sustainable factor are growing in number fastly. Now, people like you and I, are at the point of thinking that the Green revolution is saturating. No way! Every minute, they find new innovations. And if you thought houses with solar panels on its roof are the max, well you are quit wrong.
Pretty standard
Walking through a street, looking around, you see houses in all kind of forms and shapes. There is a lot of diversity. But actually, they are quit the same if you look at it rationally. They are all made out of stone or wood. A pretty standard way of making. After a good search on the web and in magazines, I found a unique way of making homes.
Back to tradition
In Columbia they think the other way around. Simon Vélez, a Columbian architect, sees the different in creating houses. Instead of floating on the trend of building modern houses just like his dad did, he went back to tradition. No more fast producing, but slow creation of facilities. Building it piece by piece. And instead of the occupant adjusting to the home, the home is adjusting to the occupant.
Why bamboo?
Believe it or not, but the traditional architecture leans on bamboo. Simon also explains that. “Bamboo is a reflection of the human being, its culture and the history of the region in which he lives.” Bamboo sends us back to basics, to purity of the product. And yes, bamboo is flexible and breakable. So how do you make it strong enough? Simply, just add cement, bolts and nuts. It will be as hard as steel. With this technique, Simon Vélez made his own house in ‘La Candelaria’ in Bogota. Vélez started with buying a building that had been expired, surrounded by lots of ground. There he created his own ‘Experience’.
Experience around the bamboo
Yes, with Experience I mean Real Experience. Vélez’ house is almost fully made out of bamboo. He has segmented his house in a way that if you look around a random corner, you will experience a whole new world. I call it Wonderlust. He used to live there alone. Then, his children wanted to live around him. So he began to upgrade the home: the home is adjusting to the occupant. Every piece has his own identity, its own authenticity. And the garden that surrounds the house is an oases of plants and other vegetation. You will feel like you are in another world.
The sustainability factor
The bamboo home is not only innovative in its appearance. Simon Vélez is also innovative as it comes to healing our earth for the future. It's kind of like a smart home without all the technologies. Bamboo absorbs CO2 easily, is wear proof, very degradable and very strong. A sustainable home, but not influenced by humans. It is all on a natural base.
A lot of pros does it have. The bamboo house is strong, sustainable, innovative and gives you a new view on living. Columbia is hysterical about the Panda plant, but will it take over the world? Will you and I see a bamboo house just around the corner in the future?
Sources:
Happiness magazine
