Reimagining Building Materials: The Bamboo

Cycle and its Role in Green Architecture

D.J. Baluyut, J.R. dela Cruz, Z.C. Gamboa, C. Guiao, I.P. Tongol

INTRODUCTION

A design philosophy known as "green architecture," also referred to as "sustainable architecture,"

strives to reduce the negative effects of buildings on the environment while increasing resource
efficiency and sustainability (Casanova, 2019). It is a comprehensive strategy that considers a
building's whole life cycle, from construction to usage to eventual deconstruction or reuse
(Bianchini et al., 2020). As a result of growing worries about climate change and the demand for
more sustainable building techniques, the idea of "green architecture" has gained traction in
recent years (Ferreira & Bragança, 2020).

By enhancing the performance of building systems including heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning (HVAC), lighting, and renewable energy systems, mechanical engineering plays a
crucial role in accomplishing the aims of green architecture (Chen et al., 2018). Mechanical
engineers may dramatically lower the energy use and carbon footprint of buildings by planning
and executing efficient building systems (Biswas et al., 2019).

Even with the increased interest in green architecture, designing and creating sustainable
structures still presents several difficulties. The lack of a consistent approach to green building
design is one of the major issues, which has caused a proliferation of green building certification
programs and rating systems (Ozkan & Sanin, 2018). Another issue is that investing in green
construction projects can be discouraged by the high initial prices of sustainable building
materials and technologies (Ferreira & Bragança, 2020).

In order to better understand how mechanical engineering may be used in green buildings, this
research project will concentrate on HVAC systems and renewable energy sources. The project
will explore prior work in the fields of mechanical engineering and green architecture, and it will
analyze a green building project as a case study. The findings of this study will shed light on the
difficulties and advantages of green design and serve as a basis for developing plans for more
environmentally friendly construction methods.

The challenge at hand is to create a green architectural solution that is environmentally

responsible, sustainable, and makes good use of the bamboo cycle during construction. This
entails tackling the difficulties of utilizing bamboo as a renewable resource at every stage of its
lifecycle, from planting to harvesting, processing to construction, and finally disposal or
recycling.

Natural building and production materials including hemp, reeds, bamboo, and straw are now
being used as a result of industrial and service development. Bamboo goods have been touted as
having a favorable impact on the environment, as well as social and economic advantages. This
has prompted creative uses of natural resources, sparked eco-innovation, and encouraged the
circular economy. With over a thousand different species found all over the world, bamboo is an
ecological material with advantages over other materials in terms of carbon sequestration,
growth cycle, and mechanical qualities. Its mechanical properties are superior to those of steel,
wood, and concrete. With new uses emerging every few years, it is also one of the most
economically advantageous forest species. This study intends to examine numerous uses of
bamboo in many economic sectors and show how creatively it can be used as a green material
(Borowski et al., 2022).

In recent decades, the building sector has been emphasized for energy conservation and carbon
emission reduction. According to recent studies, embodied emissions from the stages of
producing materials, building construction, and end-of-life can account for more than 30% of life
cycle impacts. China is the country that contributes the most to global emissions, but it has made
significant efforts to reduce them. Rural homes do have lower-than-average construction
technology and energy efficiency, though. Building carbon emissions are frequently assessed
using life cycle assessment (LCA), which can be divided into process-based and input-output
(IO) techniques.

Prior research has been done to evaluate case building emissions or improve the methodologies.
The life cycle emissions of single-family and rural residential homes were examined in this
study. It was discovered that concrete was a significant contributor to embodied emissions and
that the material production phase accounted for 30% of the life cycle's primary energy use. Case
studies were also carried out to compare the emissions of various building structural designs.
According to the findings, from a life cycle perspective, timber buildings may have the lowest
emissions.

The three most typical structural types for low-rise structures in China are RCF, masonry, and
timber. The biggest emissions, though, might be seen in RCF buildings. The development of a
novel steel-bamboo composite frame structure (SBF) has been suggested as a feasible method for
sustainable rural building. According to research, the structures made of wood and RCF have the
lowest and highest emissions, respectively. This study uses a rural detached house in China to
assess the carbon emissions of the SBF and RCF structural designs from a whole life cycle
perspective.

Analyses of life cycle inventories, Monte Carlo simulations, and recommendations for enhancing
the SBF scheme's ability to reduce emissions are the key contributions. The study is divided into
four sections: the system boundary, the primary designs of the assessed house, methods for life
cycle emission assessment and uncertainty analysis, detailed inventories in all life cycle phases,
analysis of comparison results, discussion of influencing factors and parameter uncertainty, and
recommendations for low-carbon homes (Environmental Footprints and Eco-Design of Products
and Processes, 2023).

METHODOLOGY

References
Bianchini, M., Gargaro, D., & Rinaldi, S. (2017). Green architecture: A conceptual framework
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12(6), 1040-1050. doi: 10.2495/SDP-V12-N6-1040-1050

Biswas, M. A., Hu, J., & Yu, X. (2019). Mechanical engineering and sustainability: An integrated
approach to modern engineering education. Sustainability, 11(3), 575. doi: 10.3390/su11030575

Casanova, D. (2019). Green architecture and design: A practical guide to green building. CRC
Press.

Chen, Y., Li, Y., Li, J., Li, C., & Liu, Y. (2018). A review of building energy systems for green
buildings. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 82, 2239-2253. doi:
10.1016/j.rser.2017.08.046

Ferreira, J. M., & Bragança, L. (2020). Green building assessment tools: A review of the recent
trends and future directions. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 131, 110017. doi:
10.1016/j.rser.2020.110017

Ozkan, Y. D., & Sanin, F. D. (2018). A review of green building rating tools. Renewable and
Sustainable Energy Reviews, 82, 2691-2701. doi: 10.1016/j.rser.2017.10.071

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