Bamboo has the strength of concrete, the same strength-to-weight ratio of steel, and can regenerate itself in just a few short years. It's also flexible, beautiful, and resilient, and serves as an effective low carbon footprint material. Damage from insects and moisture are its primary weaknesses, but if treated, bamboo structures can last a lifetime.
Elora Hardy left a successful career in the NY fashion scene some years ago, to build bamboo houses in Indonesia, it is also a place whose vernacular craft traditions and natural resources have inspired a model for a remarkably eco-friendly form of architecture.
Hardy, the daughter of jewelry designer John Hardy, is anything but an interloper in Bali, where she was born and was raised until the age of 14. She spent her 20s in New York City, working for five years creating fabric prints for Donna Karan. But her island upbringing stayed with her. Today she is the founder and creative director of Ibuku.
This is a great initiative and showcase, probably only for wealthy house-owners for the time being, but I am sure this type of houses will become more accessible to a larger public within some years.