Bamboo Europe

Bamboo is a promising renewable raw material which grows quickly, absorbs large amounts of CO2 and contains useful chemical and mechanical properties. Up until now, it has been imported exclusively from Asia - but now that we have a large-scale bamboo plantation in Europe, the first of its kind and fully functional, this opens up the gate for exploration into the possibilities for a sustainable bamboo supply chain. This new bamboo grown in Europe has a slightly different composition than the Asian variety, which means that more research is needed and much about the bamboo’s properties is still unclear.  

So, is it possible to transform the entire supply chain into something sustainable and transparent every step of the way – from cultivation and processing raw material to the semi-finished product and design, all the way up to furniture? The lectureship and research group from the Tactical Design department researched everything that a sustainable bamboo supply chain would involve. 

Research publication

How can bamboo – a fast-growing, CO₂-absorbing plant – be used as a sustainable material for design and production in Europe?
In this publication, the Tactical Design research group shares the insights, experiments, and prototypes developed during the research project Bamboo Europe. From plantation to product: discover how students, designers, and researchers explored the possibilities of creating a transparent and local value chain for bamboo in construction, interior design, and textiles.

Read the interview with lecturer-researcher Tjeerd van Veenhoven and Product Design student Crissi Apostolidis.

Researchers at ArtEZ

ArtEZ has three researchers who were involved in the Bamboo Europe project: lecturer Jeroen van den Eijnde and professors and researchers Tjeerd Veenhoven and Michelle Baggerman. They also form the core team that is leading the entire project. Van den Eijnde and Veenhoven were mainly focusing on the interdisciplinary research process of developing a sustainable supply chain for interior design merchandise produced from European-grown bamboo. Baggerman was involved as a researcher into the possibilities of using European bamboo fibres to create or supplement sustainable textiles.

During the project, ArtEZ students and teachers we're also involved in both Van den Eijnde/Veenhoven's and Baggerman's research. They became familiar with the principles surrounding sustainability and circular design, which are essential in terms of the energy transition and climate change mitigation objectives in initiatives such as the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals and those from the Dutch government to move towards a circular economy. The knowledge gained by this research into a sustainable European-centric supply chain for bamboo, as well as it's uses in textile production and interior design, will furthermore aid efforts to reduce deforestation and CO2 emissions globally.

Students at work

Over the course of the project, ArtEZ students within the Product Design programme worked on research questions within the framework of the Bamboo Europe research project. The Product Design students’ focus was on practically testing prototypes of bamboo-based outdoor furniture. After all, the ultimate sign of a complete supply chain is creating a functional end product - in this case, one that can withstand various factors of life outdoors (vandalism and stricter European caps on CO2 emissions in the production process, to name a few).

A full overview of the partners

The research group collaborated with the bamboo plantation BambooLogic in Portugal, the Netherlands Open Air Museum, Wageningen University & Research, various companies involved in fibre processing, wood preservation and furniture production, and designers, students and teachers at ArtEZ from several disciplinary backgrounds. Other partners involved were Studio Hanna Kooistra, Studio Joris de Groot, Studio MetMet, Beckeringh Design, SHR (Stichting Hout Research), Stichting Dutch Bamboo, Bambooder, Miscancell, Fedecom, Inducoat en BSM Factory.

Bamboo Lignin Logic

The SIA KIEM project Bamboo Lignin Logic formed the basis for the SIA RAAK SME application Bamboo Europe.