In an unassuming parking lot near Brock University's main campus, stalks of giant bamboo have defied expectations after enduring their first Canadian winter and thriving in a climate generally considered inhospitable to their survival.
The hardy plants are being grown as part of Associate Professor of Engineering Amir Mofidi's research on whether engineered bamboo could be produced locally as a sustainable alternative to conventional construction materials.
"It is still too early, but this is a promising first step in a bigger picture," Mofidi says of the research milestone.
Supported by 2023 funding from a Government of Canada Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council's (NSERC) Discovery Grant, his work applies advanced fabrication techniques to test and improve bamboo's structural capabilities.
The current project builds on Mofidi's previous research assessing the compression properties of five different giant bamboo species. The study, published in 2023, found that each species demonstrated mean compressive strengths exceeding 50 megapascals (MPa), confirming bamboo's potential as a strong, lightweight and renewable construction material.
Compared to the energy-intensive production of concrete and steel, giant bamboo grows with minimal input and regenerates naturally. Compared to hardwoods, soft wood timber, which takes decades to grow, giant bamboo typically reaches peak maturity in five years and some species can grow more than a metre a day, making it one of the fastest-growing plants on Earth.
When processed for construction which involves removing the plant's outer and inner skin and compressing the remaining strips into sheets or blocks Mofidi says giant bamboo can be used to build "basically everything except for foundations," including walls, beams, panels, columns, boards and other structural and secondary elements.
Looking ahead, Mofidi suggests Canada could learn from a project in the Netherlands, where a 28-storey building is being constructed predominantly out of engineered bamboo.
"We need to do the same here start small, prove it works and scale sustainably," he says.
Beyond making construction more sustainable, giant bamboo also plays an important role in fighting climate change and supports several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
"It absorbs more carbon than many softwood trees, making it a carbon-sequestering powerhouse," he says.
Outside of construction, bamboo has many practical uses in the manufacturing of bedding, furniture, musical instruments, kitchenware, sports equipment, clothing, paper and cardboard products, and even cars as seen in a steering wheel produced by Lexus.
But the use of bamboo comes with some challenges, Mofidi says.
Many of the engineered bamboo products currently use formaldehyde-based adhesives, which are toxic. There are no known Canadian manufactures producing laminated bamboo with sustainable bio-based adhesives.
Most bamboo-based products are also imported, making them more costly and less accessible than other options.
Still, he says the potential for integration is high.
"We don't need to reinvent the wheel," he says. "The same equipment used by the timber industry can be adapted to manufacture engineered bamboo, reducing the demand for wood."
