The Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) Council is exhibiting a 240-sqft Golden Nest made from bamboo at the 11th edition of the regional GRIHA Summit. It will be inaugurated at the India Habitat Centre (IHC) on December 16, to encourage the use of sustainable building materials.
With this year’s theme as Integrated Approach to Sustainability, the event will witness discussions, seminars and an exhibition displaying environmentally sustainable products and technologies.
GRIHA Council senior manager Aakash Deep says, “Apart from the bamboo nest, multiple innovative exhibits are being done such as a playground that generates energy.” The flagship event is in association with the University of New South Wales and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
Krunal Negandhi, director, JANS Bamboo Products Pvt Ltd, Thane, who has built the cottage, says, “This scientifically cultivated bamboo species has been procured from farmers of Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra and is then treated to get longevity. Bamboo requires a separate method of design as compared to steel and wood. Nails can’t be fixed into bamboo because all the grains are vertical. The components were prepared at our factory in Kudal, and we are assembling the pre-fabricated components here at IHC.”
The structural skeleton is built from Copper Chrome Boron (CCB) vacuum pressure-treated bamboo poles of the Dendrocalamus stocksii bamboo species. It is then straightened and bent using slow heating method to look aesthetic.
“The walls have been made from flattened bamboo and bamboo mat pressed on environment-friendly Wood Polymer Composite (WPC) board. The flooring is also bamboo and the roof is in two layers, a framework of bamboo purlins and WPC with flattened bamboo pressed over it. The flooring used is strand woven bamboo flooring,” says Negandhi, who creates bamboo structures, including a bamboo restaurant in Maldives, and hut-like spaces, banquets, pavilions in India.
Negandhi says using bamboo structures are costlier than the normal buildings when it comes to aesthetics. “But apt for different geographical areas, be it a cold place, a hot region or a high-wind area. It’s just the design that has to be kept as per the requirement of an area. Every three-four years, apply a coating of polyurethane to tackle the aberration caused due to the sunlight.”
Harping on bamboo’s potential, Sanjay Seth, Chief Executive Officer, GRIHA Council, said, “Typically a hectare of bamboo sequesters around 200 MT of carbon dioxide per year. The use of steel, wood or concrete negatively impacts the atmosphere through the release of GHGs but bamboo has zero carbon impact.”
Sturdy & durable
The more you cut bamboo poles, the faster these grow. Though hollow from within, it’s strength matches that of steel and is stronger than concrete. No water is required for constructing bamboo structures.
At: Charminar, IHC;
On: December 17-18
The nest will displayed near Plaza Steps till December 22