State-of-the-art of practice in Colombia on engineered Guadua bamboo structures

Guadua Angustifolia Kunt (Guadua) is a bamboo species that has been considered an alternative material for construction in some of the Latin-American countries. In Colombia, specially in some Department or State like Quindio, Risaralda, Caldas, Antioquia, Tolima, Cauca, Valle del Cauca, Choco and Cundinamarca, Guadua has been used mainly for residential buildings, having bahareque (Split bamboo and mortar connected to a guadua frame) as the preferred structural system for this type of structures. This system has shown an adequate seismic behavior during earthquakes like the one in Armenia (1999), (EERI, 2000). A presidential decree in 2002, incorporated into the second version of the Colombian Building Code (NSR-98) requirements for the design and construction of two story bahareque houses. In 2010, an update of the Colombian Building Code (NSR-10) was conducted and for the first time in Colombia a new chapter about requirements for the design and construction of engineered Guadua bamboo structures was introduced. This paper presents a summary about the state of the art of practice in Colombia on engineered Guadua Bamboo structures based on the requirements stated in the Colombian Building Code (NSR-10).