Bamboo Import, in collaboration with Ballast Nedam Parking, was commissioned earlier this year to supply the bamboo cladding for the new parking garage in The Hague. The unique design was realized by Moke Architects from Amsterdam.
It is the first time in history that bamboo canes have been used for the cladding of a parking garage in the Benelux. The use of Bamboo Canes makes this project environmentally friendly, sustainable and innovative.
Bamboo is a giant grass and also the fastest growing plant in the world. Bamboo plantations can be selectively harvested annually without the need for replanting, making bamboo a fantastic and sustainable alternative to tropical hardwood.
Although there are more than 1,575 species of bamboo worldwide, there is only one species of giant bamboo that we use for structural purposes: Guadua angustifolia. Guadua bamboo is a tropical, South American species of bamboo whose fibers have a tensile strength greater than structural steel (hence the nickname "vegetable steel" or "strongest bamboo in the world"). Our Guadua Bamboo Poles are specially cut and treated to meet the strictest quality standards.
To date, bamboo poles have been used in modern European architecture on a very limited basis, in part because our building codes do not yet require it. The mechanical properties of bamboo are also poorly understood, unlike in many Asian and South American countries where bamboo is widely used. For example, 1 billion people worldwide live in houses made of bamboo.
One characteristic of bamboo is that the poles are hollow on the inside. This ensures that the connection of bamboo is not obvious. To facilitate the installation of the bamboo poles, Bamboo Import developed special stainless steel clamps that were supplied already mounted on the bamboo poles.
The first phase of the bamboo parking garage in The Hague consists of 2 floors, for which we supplied 2.37 km of Guadua bamboo poles. In a second phase, another 5 floors will be added, so that a total of about 250 parking spaces will be available.
