Subject: GBlist: Re: The Building Dept. and your bamboo house (fwd)

From: "Lawrence F. London, Jr." <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 18 May 1997 21:42:19 -0400 (EDT)

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sun, 18 May 1997 19:18:56 -0400 (EDT)
From: Elizabeth Nakabayashi <[email-masked]>
Cc: [email-masked]
Subject: GBlist: Re: The Building Dept. and your bamboo house

Aloha,
It is exciting to hear that mainland bamboo enthusiast are following in 
the
footsteps of last years Big Island Bamboo Conference. Last summer BOTH
Simon Velez and Oscar Hildago spoke to us and we are sure you will find
their presentations energizing. Oscar also  presented a workshop here last
summer and the possibilities of bamboo as structural material seem
practically unlimited, except by building codes across the US.

There are more than a few of you wanting to construct your own bamboo 
house
or other structure that haven't been able to figure out a way through the
government building department process.  Most building departments in the
US are
not familiar with the engineering and math needed for approval of bamboo
structures and few architects or builders, that I know of, are willing to
sign off  on plans with a structural base of bamboo, due to liability.

Dr. Jules Janssen is the gentleman that can guide you through this maze of
requirements and structural math.  Dr. Janssen does in fact give seminars 
to
Building Department personnel and will be doing so on at least 3 of the
Hawaiian Islands in late July. Dr. Janssen's tour will culminate here on
the Big Island with a series of seminars to architects, professionals in
the building industry and the general public July 25-28. The opening day
demonstration will be on the 25th of July (Friday) from 1 to 5, with 6
teams of 2 people each. They will construct an object from locally grown
bamboo that will have both 90 degree and triangular joints.

Dr. Janssen's detailed seminars will be accompanied by handouts of his
hourly papers covering 18 different subjects including technical data.  
Also
included in the handouts will be information about bamboo propagation,
preservation, curing and which species are good for what purposes
(utilitarian code).

The Hawaii Chapter of the ABS (sponsoring organization) will erect and 
staff
a bamboo pavilion on the grounds of the Naniloa Hotel for the 
dissemination
of bamboo information. Timber bamboo starts, as well as
bamboo arts and crafts, will be available to the attendees and the general
public from the pavilion. The pavilion is a bamboo tensile structure with 
a
fabric roof and was designed by Cal Hashimoto(you can see his artwork
through May at the PDX Gallery in Portland) and built by HCABS members.

The seminar facilities at the Naniloa Hotel are large and well suited to
Dr. Janssen's multi-media presentations. The Polynesian Room, on the
grounds of the hotel where the demonstration will take place is a 
beautiful
example of joinery in itself with a ceiling of massive bamboo culms.The
hotel has made special rates available to attendees. The Naniloa is 
located
on the beautiful Pacific Ocean and just a short walk to quaint Oriental
gardens that also overlook the ocean.

The fees are low and include lunch on the 3 days of the seminars. If 
anyone
would like more information on Dr. Jules Janssen I would be happy to
forward you a copy of the June, 96 Discover Magazine article, "Bamboo
Solutions".
For additional information contact -Petra Keuning, HCABS Treasurer at
[email-masked] or Richard Waters at [email-masked] or Liz
Nakabayashi at [email-masked].
You can get further information at the Bamboo Web site
www.kauai.net/~kwc/bambooweb/janssen.html or the
ABS site www.halycon.com/abs
Mahalo
Liz Nakabayashi, on behalf of the Designing and Building With Bamboo
Committee, HCABS.

* GROW ORGANIC * GROW ORGANIC * GROW ORGANIC * GROW ORGANIC * GROW 
ORGANIC *

Liz Nakabayashi
Hawaii Grown Farms
PO Box 224
Pa'auilo, Hawaii 96776

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