| Bamboo qualifies as a sustainable building material for temporary shelters due to its natural plant and material characteristics. With previous research on the cost effectiveness as well as the material strength, bamboo seems to qualify as a great alternative for traditional building materials such as wood and steel. However, due to the short lived lifespan of the plant, bamboo is best fit for a temporary housing.;This thesis tests a bamboo structure by creating a three dimensional model in SAP and applying various wind and seismic loads to test the stability of the structure. Initially, numerous researches were referenced for the material properties to create bamboo as a new material in SAP. Then ASCE 7-05 procedures were used to properly design the wind and seismic loads to test the validity of the structure.;The results of SAP testing show the bamboo structure being able to withstand the load design specified by ASCE. Along with the advantages as a sustainable material, bamboo proved to be a valid potential alternative to traditional materials for temporary housing. |
