PROJECT
parts of the world. Besides its durability and longevity, it works wonders
for the aesthetics at nature-based lodges like Puku Ridge. Andy Paige,
Managing Director of MOSO Africa, explains that bamboo is a grass of
which there are about 1 500 different species worldwide.
“Many of these are giant species, with stems or culms growing to
diameters of 50-120mm. Strips cut from the culms of these giant
bamboo plants can be engineered (including lamination, compression
and thermal treatment) to produce beams, panels and boards which
look and feel very similar to traditional timber products,” says Paige.
In fact, bamboo and timber have a similar chemical composition
(cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin), but generally the individual fibre
bundles in the bamboo strips are longer and have a higher tensile and
bending strength than similar fibre bundles in timber, so in many cases
the mechanical properties of engineered bamboo products exceed the
mechanical properties of comparable timber products.
The viewing deck was purposely designed around the existing
canopy of Tamarind trees. The anchoring roots of the trees were
protected by elevating the deck above the natural ground level.
Guest suites are positioned close to the floodplains, and each unit
offers guests their own private lookout point.
The stepped deck of bamboo surrounding each unit follows the site’s unique contours, providing un-obstructed views.
10 OCTOBER / NOVEMBER 2020 // www.timberiq.co.za