Buildings
Structure, lining, insulation or finish depending on family.
Darker cells mean a higher score for this topic on that metric.
Strength58
Heat resistance28
Fire performance32
Insulation40
Workability84
Circularity86
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Last reviewed Sources & creditsMedia creditsMethodology
Quick answers
Is Bamboo non-combustible?
Declared reaction class in this atlas: untreated D-class typical; treated products vary. Assemblies still need resistance tests.
Does Bamboo insulate?
Thermal mark 40/100 versus the atlas. Conductivity note: ~0.1–0.2 W/m·K across the wall.
What is the density band?
~0.6–0.8 g/cm³ culm
How is it made?
Origin story: ancient scaffolding; industrial strand board late 20th c. (East and South Asia).
Can it be recycled?
Circularity mark 86/100 — editorial, route-specific.
Typical melting or failure heat?
chars; does not melt
heat 28 · fire 32
Bamboo earns its keep in systems: a beam, a batt, a fibre blend, a coated steel — rarely a lone coupon.
Products below are cultural landmarks as much as SKUs.
Sectors
Transport
Mass, fire and fatigue rewrite the grade list.
Energy
Heat, voltage and hydrogen compatibility.
Consumer
The volume that pays for the mill.
Medical / food
When allowed — extractables and allergies matter.
Defence / safety
Ballistics, FR clothing, fire stops.
Products
Hong Kong scaffolding
ongoing
Japanese tea whisk
craft
Moso flooring
1990s–
Strand lumber
2000s–
Bahareque wall
vernacular
Angklung
instrument
Bike frame tubes
1990s–
Guadua structures
2000s–
Pairings
wood
The tree composite bamboo is sold against.
cotton
Another plant cellulose, in cloth not culms.
steel
The incombustible frame scaffolding sometimes replaces.
carbon-fiber
A high-modulus tube bamboo bikes are compared with.
If the pairing is wrong, the material will be blamed for a system fault.
Keep exploring
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Frozen silicate liquid — windows, bottles, fibres and a Euroclass A1 skin that still shatters and melts in fire.
Overall 58 💎Technical ceramics
Crystalline oxides and carbides for heat, wear and electronics — not the mug on the desk.
Overall 64 🏗️Concrete
The hydraulic ceramic of cities — cement, water, rock and usually steel, with a fire story better than exposed steel.
Overall 57 🌲Wood
Anisotropic cellulose composite grown as trees — carpentry, mass timber and a combustible story that codes still manage.
Overall 57