Jorg Stamm, bamboo master builder

In launching the first article on Bamboo Personalities, I have chosen this remarkable man, Jorg Stamm. We met at in the Bamboo U environment and also worked together during my time in Ibuku with the Green School and other projects.

I can confidently call Jorg a bamboo master as he has the pedigree, the tenacity and the track record to deserve the title. A confident, talented and principled man, I am sure he will remain a strong force in continuing to help develop the bamboo world.

Do visit Jorg’s new website jorg stamm.com and find out more about his bamboo journey and structurally striking projects.

Thank you Jorg for taking the time and for supporting Better Bamboo Buildings. Go Bamboo!

Q: Tell us about how you started working with bamboo.

Well there was this earthquake that triggered a mud avalanche and took away a few villages and villagers, also bridges etc, so i thought i could help and rebuilt with locally available resources. I made a model, according to old-fashioned wood bridges in Europe and gained the trust of the emergency managers responsible.

Q: Which regions do you work in and Why Bamboo?

I started to work locally in a remote province in Colombia, South America. Later i had some more bridge proyects on national level. From there, due to exposure in conferences of Bamboo Congress I went to neighbouring countries and finally also overseas. Bamboo grows abundantly in the tropics and seems to be a resource for wood substitution in times of scarcity. For me its just another wooden pole, but obviously quite a nice one, no need for debarking, easy preservation, and not so heavy to carry around or lift by hand.

 Q: What species of bamboo have you used in your bamboo journey and what are your favorites?

The favorite is the one at hand. Transport cost and import makes things expensive, so the best choice is the locally available resources, like earth building, stone and wood or bamboo, obviously with the sensibility of not exploiting the environmental balance.

 Q: Who constructs the buildings and if you can elaborate on the construction process especially the artisans and special skills required, if any ?

Everybody is useful for something and a project needs many different skills, farmers, harvesters, treatment guys, cooks, watchmen, truck drivers, diggers, masons and carpenters.

During prefabrication or lifting I usually work with carpenters, whatever that means in terms of tool or machine management.  But local farmers often also can perform a wide range of skills and just need to be shown some moves and they can learn, especially the youngsters are fast learning and these like to climb up into the swindling heights. Elderly carpenters are good crew managers, because they have authority, also they can solve technical problems because of there experience. 

 Q: Anything special or challenging that you want to share about your buildings in its design, construction process and maintenance?

Design can have many different languages and its important to feel that special feature the architect looks for. But when it comes to adapt this design to structural concepts there is a range of arguments which are mandatory, like Frank Gehry says: "one of them is gravity". Well, another one is wind, earthquakes, moisture, sun, fire hazards, privacy etc.

Best way to deal with gravity and lateral forces is a sound basic geometry: many would go instinctively for a box with diagonals, but that is not only old-fashioned, it is also not natural.

There is no straight line in Nature, no box and no bracing. I take in mind triangulation, but usually i look for three dimensional braces, as these seem to me more natural, something inspired by Gaudi, by Frei Otto, or by all kinds of parabola, or twisted kind of surfaces.

 Q: What are the main challenges in bamboo for you and how are you approaching these challenges?

Durability come with the respect of protection by design principles. It starts with mature culms, lets say 4-5 years, something that is difficult to find, as most traders don't really know what they are selling. Farmers also sell all kinds of bamboo poles, and usually don't really like to select only the hardy ones. Treatment processes are simple but need discipline: a non treated bamboo should never get out of the factory. That is not always the case, as sometimes the workers think they wouldn't need treated poles for the scaffolding, but later such unprotected poles sometimes find their way into the building.

I work preferably with trusted suppliers and I am aware that a reliable product requires a fair price. But whatever the cost of treated poles is, the big chunk of added value comes with its final assembly. It is important to give respect to the guys who do the hard work of preparing the culms, so i can build quickly and reliably.

 Q: What has influenced you in your bamboo work and why? 

There are European traditions mixing with local styles, there are architects and engineers like Frei Otto and many "no name" German wood master builders , but also the Bamboo Godfathers, like Oscar Hidalgo and Simon Velez. The first bamboo architect who opened my eyes was Rafael Rojas, building "Alandaluz" a beach resort in Ecuador, where is spent my honeymoon. 

 Q: Name one  or two of your projects that you think sums you up as Jorg Stamm, the bamboo engineer/designer.

Well, in Bali you probably have seen the Three Mountains building, that 2000 m2 Factory hall we built with John Hardy and it became the prototype for Heart of School. Also the first Sibang bridge, which lead the way to the Green School one which was a milestone.

But there are many other styles and technical developments spanning over two decades of lightweight construction everyone kind of unique.

 Q: Please add anything else that you think may help encourage and equip the bamboo world.

We should go for more temporary bamboo construction, chill out shades in parks and schools. bamboo needs to go mainstream and those extravagant bamboo hideaway resorts are nice on photos, but not tangible for most.

I would like to launch a design contest for such designs, may be to be published 2021 in World Bamboo Congress in Taiwan.

Paris Olympics is my target to introduce Bamboo Kits to Europes Parks and Kindergartens.