In Europe the construction engineering is ruled by a collection of standards : the Eurocodes.
There are ten of them, interconnected :
EN 1990: (Eurocode 0) Basis of structural design
EN 1991: (Eurocode 1) Actions on structures
EN 1992: (Eurocode 2) Design of concrete structures
EN 1993: (Eurocode 3) Design of steel structures
EN 1994: (Eurocode 4) Design of composite steel and concrete structures
EN 1995: (Eurocode 5) Design of timber structures
EN 1996: (Eurocode 6) Design of masonry structures
EN 1997: (Eurocode 7) Geotechnical design
EN 1998: (Eurocode 8) Design of structures for earthquake resistance
EN 1999: (Eurocode 9) Design of aluminium structures
As we can see, some of them are dedicated to the kind of material.
The one obtained from the bamboo grass would belong to the timber category, therefore the Eurocode 5.
The aim of AUREA is to help recognizing this material, in collaboration with the actors of the bamboo and the wood construction networks, and thus, officially allow it for a structural use in Europe.
The ideal Long term aim, up to now, consists in establishing a table of eurocodes-certified characteristics of bamboo as a function of basic properties such as density, diameter, age, height, of a stem.
This way, any designer would be able to get the characteristics of any locally available bamboo, of course under the conditions of a properly harvested, treated and dried material.
This is a long-time matter that also concerns other traditional building materials :
TECHNICAL PERFORMANCE OF TRADITIONAL CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS
Innovation in the use of building materials
16th September 2008
University of Bath, Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering