Building up bamboo

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, scientists, along with architects and wood processors from England and Canada, are looking for ways to turn bamboo into a construction material more akin to wood composites, like plywood. The idea is that a stalk, or culm, can be sliced into smaller pieces, which can then be bonded together to form sturdy blocks—much like conventional wood composites. A structural product of this sort could be used to construct more resilient buildings—particularly in places like China, India, and Brazil, where bamboo is abundant.