Bamboo was an environmentally friendly and a sustainable resource long before these concepts were invented. The best thing about bamboo is its strength-to-weight ratio. It is stronger than steel in tension, stronger than concrete in compression, and more stable than red oak when processed as lumber. Aligning those specs with computer modeling has yielded amazing results: tensile, self-supporting bridges, super-strength bicycles and surfboards, composite lumber, even prototype automobile designs.

Bamboo Technologies - a Maui-based eco-architecture firm - is creating a certification and inspection board to ensure streamlined bamboo production. The goal is to create standardized procedures- from harvest to Home Depot- so people in design, construction, and zoning will take a look at it. The certification process will allow bamboo to break out of its current alternative designation, and, for the first time in history, make it a viable lumber and design material for use around the world. Someday hardware stores will carry and find posts, beams, paneling, plywood, fencing, all made of bamboo.

Octagon bamboo homes, like the one above, can be attached to each other in a row or a triangle with an interior courtyard or living area with a roof. Two attached octagons can be designed with the kitchen and living area in one octagon and the bathroom and bedroom in the other. Three attached octagons can be designed with the kitchen and bathroom in one, the living area in the second, and a master bedroom and bathroom in the third. Attached octagons can the same size or a combination of different sizes.