Bamboo Europe

Is it possible to set up a sustainable, transparent and local value chain for processing bamboo for interior design, construction and textiles? The Tactical Design lectureship investigates the potential of European-produced bamboo – from raw material to finished product.

Bamboo is a promising renewable raw material that grows rapidly, has high CO2 uptake and excellent chemical and mechanical properties. Until now, it has been exclusively imported from Asia – but now that BambooLogic’s first large-scale bamboo plantation in Europe is a reality, the stage is set for exploring the possibilities of a sustainable value chain for bamboo in furniture, interior and textile application areas.

From ArtEZ, three researchers are involved in the Bamboo Europe project: lecturer Jeroen van den Eijnde and lecturer-researchers Tjeerd Veenhoven and Michelle Baggerman. They are also leading the entire project. Van den Eijnde and Veenhoven will mainly deal with the trans-disciplinary research process for developing a sustainable chain for interior products based on bamboo grown in Europe. Baggerman is a researcher involved in the possibilities of using European bamboo fibres for sustainable textile applications.

Students from the ArtEZ Product Design bachelor’s programme will conduct design research with an assignment to design an outdoor bamboo plaything as a test for European bamboo. After all, a working end product that can withstand a variety of outdoor situations (European climate requirements, vandalism, etc.) is the ultimate outcome of a functioning value chain.