School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences - Theses

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Subject: forestry × Start date: 2010 × End date: 2016 ×

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    Shaping bamboo prior to harvest: the seasonal experimentation of growing angles and radii for a harvestable furniture concept
    Vittouris, Alexander ( 2016)
    Construction of furniture utilising bamboo as a primary material generally relies upon linear segments which are fixed through joining methods to create the desired product outcome. While bamboo can be pliable to create a continuous shape such as an arc through the use of heat modification using compressive moulds, bamboo may also be bent during the initiation of the seasonal culm cycle through applying a pre-defined mould to the emerging culm. This method utilises the natural growth of the bamboo in order to create the desired shape. This research study aims to enquire if seasonal bamboo culms can be manipulated to form a pre-defined shape suitable for simple furniture construction. A reusable, two-part mould is devised, utilising primarily scavenged conduit materials. This conduit, with an attached, fixture offset from the emerging culm, allows the placement of the conduit around the emerging shoot. Once installed, the bamboo culm progresses through the conduit material, thereby forcefully transferring both the angle and radii onto the young culm, leaving it permanently shaped. Site installations at The University of Melbourne, Parkville campus, Melbourne Zoo, locations in Queensland, China and Japan have provided a limited test sample size, where a range of angles from 5 degrees to 65 degrees could be repeated through the seasons contained in the candidature. Repeatability of a simple ‘S’ shape bend was achieved through growing the bamboo through pipe and conduit materials. Another method of pre-harvest shaping of bamboo was also tested, through removing part of the seasonally emerging culms protective sheath, thereby destabilising the young culm, causing it to bend, thereby further removing the need for conduit materials. Accompanying the seasonal test samples, a furniture based chair concept is presented, utilising grown samples to create a design which consolidates parts in order to minimise fastening of traditionally linear sections of bamboo.