Bamboo Contemporary

Bamboo-one of the most sustainable building materials on the planet-is deployed in ingenious ways throughout this globetrotting tour of twenty residential designs. There are many ways to help alleviate the effects of climate change, and changing the way we design and build our homes is one of them. Building with bamboo, a perennial grass that grows rapidly and rivals steel, concrete, and wood in strength, is a step in the right direction. Employed in residential design around the world, it's only beginning to gain traction as a construction material in the United States. Bamboo Contemporary is an inspirational collection of twenty dwellings in locales from China to the Czech Republic and Norway to the Netherlands, each an example of bamboo's structural or design potential. Three projects-in New York, Washington, DC, and Hawaii-represent nascent efforts in this country. Fascinating project descriptions, documentary photography, and architectural drawings are complemented by an appendix rich in technical information about this remarkably versatile plant.