Bamboo as a Sustainable Material for Building Construction in Nigeria

Abstract

Bamboo as a material for building construction was assessed for its sustainability using data from secondary sources. It is a well-known fact that a sustainable material for building construction must be environmentally friendly, affordable, flexible in usage, and durable, which makes bamboo one because of these characteristics it possesses. Also, due to its rapid growth and adaptability to most climatic conditions as well as its properties and superiority to most rapidly growing plant in Nigeria, bamboo emerges as a sustainable material for building construction in Nigeria. Bamboo has numerous unique advantages like the ability to grow fast with a high yield, environmental friendliness, lightness in weight, and matures quickly for harvesting. Additionally, bamboo can be grown abundantly at a lower cost than other building materials, which makes it more economical. This study, therefore, deals with the main properties and significant uses of bamboo and also identifies some of the challenges faced in the use of bamboo as a sustainable material for building construction. The study concluded that bamboo could be used as a building material for various construction purposes such as foundations, floors, walls and ceilings, doors, and windows, scaffolding, trusses, and roofing. It also suggests the various preservation techniques to be adopted in order to enhance its durability and lifespan for building construction purposes. The study consequently recommended that since bamboo is readily available in Nigeria, it is therefore proposed for use as a sustainable material for building construction. However, the various problems which are associated with the usage of bamboo as a building material such as attack by insects and fungi can be improved with the use of chemical and non-chemical preservative treatments that enhances durability and life span.

Keywords: Bamboo, Sustainable, Building Material, Construction, Nigeria

DOI: 10.7176/CER/11-8-03

Publication date:September 30^th 2019