Collaboration between Architecture for Humanity and Kleiwerks international to develop a preliminary manual, without words, on the use of bamboo for the purpose of construction. The manual is to provide a basic understanding of the material and how it can be applied. It was chosen that the manual should be wordless to enable it to be used universally in the application of bamboo.
Project posted by Kevin Rowell
Comments
I don't know where to begin. Page 1 has yet to be written. Page 2 speaks about the motivation to plant... don't forget the most important reason: for shade... but the one about leaves coming from one part isn't clear even to me. The leaves are higher nitrogen than alfalfa, great for cows, pigs and goats but can be fatal to horses. (hairs on some leaves causes choking)
Page 3 I don't get
Page 4 I'd eliminate the closeups of the pole ends. Microscope scale isn't useful.
Page 5 The pole holding up the floor is a disaster waiting to happen. Show triangular cross braces inside the wall. Slope the concrete footing away from the bottom of the pole. Show a rebar going from the pole down into the footing, and a piece of sheetmetal separating the bamboo from the concrete.
page 6 Why are there two of the same drawing? Plaster recipe?
Joinery general comment: I think it should start from a single structure with each detail being an exploded view from there. These are taken out of context and can be disastrous used in the wrong place.
pg 7 It's not clear why I would do these joints, or where they'd be used, or what dialect of creole is Spanish?
pg 8 The only way I'd advocate lashed joints like that would be if the rope was dipped in waterproof glue first.
9 and 10 are repeats
I really don't like advocating these joints that involve through tenons. Done poorly, they're a big problem. The whole structure comes down to the strength of a couple pins. Compare that to bolts which are hundreds of times stronger. Get Clinton's ear and have him buy a few containers of bolts, far better than signing more death warrants.
It is a delusion to think that complex concepts can be effectively communicated by a few simple drawings. This question has been scientifically studied. The number of people who grasp the intended meaning of the drawings is moderate, as is the number who reach an erroneous conclusion, and the number who are simply baffled. Drawings plus words always communicate substantially better and more accurately than either alone.
The effectiveness of your document would be enhanced by providing a paragraph of text for each page of drawings. If this text were printed in English, Spanish, and French, it is likely that someone in a given group working on a building project would be able to read the text. If not, you've lost nothing over the wordless approach, but in most cases, you will have gained a great deal of accuracy and clarity for your message.
Simplifying that message, and focusing on the essentials, would also increase the likelihood of accurate comprehension. What does the ellipse on the first page tell us? That in case of earthquake, we should run toward the ocean, perhaps to get a better view of the tsunami? Does the central image suggest that the bottom eight feet of the bamboo culms is not used in any construction? Is the image of the goat adding useful information for the intended audience? The chair(?) seems to be massively overbuilt, either of thick bundles of the upper part of the culms, or of very large diameter culms. Neither strikes me as "best practices".
I can guess what the left-most image of the second page is supposed to communicate, but I doubt that people without bamboo experience will. The dotted line with the heavy bars in the second image is a mystery to me. And what is the reader supposed to learn from the right-most image?
Page three seems to tell us that a baby will grow to be an old man before a bamboo culm reaches its full strength. Why the baby temporarily becomes two people is a bit of a mystery.
Page four seems to assert that a modest roof overhang will keep sun and rain off the whole wall, and therefore prevent splitting and insect attacks. This is dishonest and delusional. Overhangs are good, but anyone who believes this picture will be sadly disappointed.
Page five ought to confuse almost everyone in one place or another. How cross-cultural do you judge the Charles Atlas weight lifter icon to be?
Your page six icons for threaded rod should confuse most people, too, since it doesn't show a solid rod. And are the diagrams in the ellipse recommending proper waste disposal or recycling?
Page seven repeats some of the confusing icons, and adds a few more. The saw seems to be entering the bamboo from the bottom, since the upper surface isn't cut. The wire has a bunch of arrows circling it, which I don't understand. The icon for the drill, with its arrows and dotted lines, makes little sense to me.
The diagrams on page eight are clearer than most, but its hard to see this joint as a "best practice". It is rather weak.
The same can be said of the joint on page nine, which is shown twice in virtually identical diagrams. I'm guessing that one is supposed to show pins, while the other shows nails, but the repetition adds to confusion rather than reducing it.
Page ten is close to comprehensible, although I wonder how the viewer who is trying to learn from this manual will interpret the solid white area in the lower left, which is probably intended to be mud plaster.
Page eleven lacks any indication of how the parts are held together. Wire was shown on page ten. Should it appear on page eleven as well?
I think there is way too much going on in page twelve. And what does the person harvesting the bamboo in the middle of the upper panel tell us?
These comments may seem overly critical, but my intent is to demonstrate that you have set yourself an impossible task, by trying to communicate complex information without words. I think if you test this manual out of any focus group of non-builders, or builders without bamboo experience, you will verify that confusion will be commonplace.
i work with folks in development in the tropics, panama.
that book blows my mind in how much information it can convey to any none blind (physically or intellectually) person in the world.
i will forward this to many others that do the same.
thank you
i work with folks in development in the tropics, panama.
that book blows my mind in how much information it can convey to any none blind (physically or intellectually) person in the world.
i will forward this to many others that do the same.
thank you
Dear Kevin, great work and very good graphics. I am an Architect in DC area, born in Pakistan, I will be doing Masters program at VA Tech for research in Bamboo building for the rebuilding of villages in Pakistan effected due to earthquakes and floods. Bamboo is very much available in many regions of Pakistan hit hard by natural disaster, so makes complete sense to use this material for building for its flexibility. I would like to request your feedback and any resources for research you can suggest. Thanks,
Shabbir
pak4@earthlink.net
Thank you all for taking the time to give such thoughtful comments, indeed we have seen that words alone can fail to deliver a concepts true meaning and so drawings can fall short. We have found the best use for this first draft document is in conjunction with trainings we conduct, context is everything.
As we continue to develop the next phase of the manual we will do our best to incorporate the wisdom each of you have shared. I do hope you will continue to review the document and add your insights feel free to contact me directly if you would like to be more involve with V.2
Kevin Rowell
www.TheNaturalBuilders.com