'Bamboo, The New Superman - Mozilla Firefox'
Raphael Moras de Vasconcellos
From the page Bamboo, The New Superman - Mozilla Firefox:
http://blog.greenearthbamboo.com/archives/338
Bamboo, The New Superman
by Tom Pane on October 4, 2009
In
the 1930’s Superman was nicknamed the “man of steel” because back then
steel was considered to be the ultimate symbol of strength and
durability. Today we’d be more likely to call him the “Man of Bamboo”.
With good reason.
In our 21st century scientists, architects, and builders have discovered the new steel for this age… bamboo. Strange as it sounds, bamboos tensile strength and durability match or exceed steel. Our Superman would be proud of the new nickname when he learns of bamboo’s power and feats of strength.
Spanning the River Min in Saechuan is the largest suspension bridge in the world, held together entirely by bamboo cables. Metal detectors won’t find any iron or nails on the entire bridge structure. A bamboo bridge sounds far fetched until you learn how effectively the ancient and modern Chinese have harnessed the power of bamboo. Bamboo cables were the earliest structural element in the history of engineering to be used for suspension bridges, which originated in China and the Himalayas. A bamboo cable 2-inch diameter can support 4 tons and these ancient bridges spanned distances up to 76 meters without central supports.
AP Photo - William Fernando Martinez
Bridges aren’t the only structures where bamboo proves it strength. “Anything built with steel, I can do in bamboo faster and just as cheaply,” said Colombian architect Simon Velez. He should know, Velez created the largest bamboo structure ever built: the 55,200-square-foot Nomadic Museum, a temporary building that recently debuted in Mexico City and takes up half of the Zocalo, Latin America’s largest plaza.
Building is only part of bamboo’s wonders, durability is another.
Jules Janssen was in Costa Rica in 1991 when a deadly 7.7 magnitude
earthquake struck. Touring the epicenter hours later, he found every
brick and concrete building had collapsed.
“But 20 bamboo structures built there by coincidence held up
marvelously. There wasn’t a single crack,” said Janssen, a civil
engineer and expert on bamboo’s physical properties.
Bamboo proves its worth not just as a building material but as an inspirational design as well. Taipei is home to the tallest skyscraper in the world. The whole design is based on a bamboo shoot because of the Chinese belief system with bamboo.
Add
versatility to bamboo’s list of talents, as displayed by the bamboo
organ of Las Pinas built in 1824. This is definitely not a reed
instrument, yet it creates a powerful musical voice. Bamboo is the key
element in an organ that can create notes light as air or make music
that can pound your socks off.
Superman might think “the man of steel” is catchier, but “the man of bamboo” is all about strength and style.
Raphael Moras de Vasconcellos
rap...@bambubrasileiro.com
www.bambubrasileiro.com