目前竹子可能有助於解決建築物的可持續性問題
Updated 19th November 2021
Searching for new ways to build sustainable homes, Earl Forlales decided to look not into the future, but to the past.
尋找建造可持續之住宅的新方法，CUBO Modular公司共同創始人兼執行長，Earl Forlales決定不著眼於未來，而是過去。
His grandparents, like generations of Filipinos, lived in a "Bahay Kubo" -- a traditional, boxy, single-story bamboo hut on stilts, indigenous to the Philippines. "Filipinos have been using bamboo (for housing) even before colonial times, for thousands of years," he says.
他的祖父母與幾代菲律賓人一樣，住在"Bahay Kubo"中。這是菲律賓土著，一種傳統、正四方形、位於高蹺上的單層竹屋。他宣稱：「數千年來，菲律賓人甚至在殖民時代之前，一直使用竹子(供住宅之用)，達數千年。」
Strong and flexible, bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world: while soft and hard woods can take between 40 and 150 years to mature, bamboo is ready to harvest in as little as three years. When treated and engineered, it can last for decades. Realizing the Bahay Kubo could be adapted to create a contemporary home, Forlales began designing his own bamboo houses.
竹子柔韌且堅固，是世界上生長最快的植物之一：儘管軟木及硬木成熟會花上40到150年，竹子不到三年就可收成。當經過妥善加工、處理時，竹子能持續達數十年。認知到Bahay Kubo可能被採用，來創造現代住宅，Forlales開始設計自己的竹屋。
After winning the "Cities for our Future" challenge run by the UK's Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 2018, the materials engineering graduate turned his idea into a company, co-founding CUBO in 2019.
於2018年，贏得英國皇家特許測量師學會所舉辦，"咱們未來之城市"的挑戰賽後，這位材料工程畢業生，將其構想轉成了一家公司。於2019年，共同創立了CUBO。
The company launched production of its prefabricated homes in November 2020. The structures can be assembled in just a few days and are predicted to last up to 50 years, says Forlales. He hopes that CUBO's modular designs and use of bamboo can "help accelerate sustainable building" while also providing affordable housing solutions for the Philippines' housing crisis.
於2020年11月，該公司開始生產其預製的房屋。Forlales表示，這些建築物能在僅幾天內組裝完成，預計耐久達50年。他期盼，CUBO的模組化設計及竹子的使用，能“有助於加速可持續的建築物”，同時也為菲律賓的住宅危機，提供廉價住宅的解決方案。
CUBO's bamboo homes incorporate many aspects of the traditional "Bahay Kubo" including a raised foundation and louvers, a type of window blind that allows natural ventilation and light.
CUBO的竹屋融合了傳統“Bahay Kubo”的諸多方面，包括凸起的地基及百葉窗，這是一種顧及自然通風與採光的窗戶薕子。
But CUBO has given the bamboo hut a 21st-century upgrade, including modern light fittings and impact-proof polycarbonate windows. The Philippines is prone to earthquakes and typhoons, so the homes have been designed with natural disasters in mind.
不過，CUBO已經對竹屋進行了，一項21世紀的升級，包括現代燈具及防撞擊的聚碳酸酯窗戶。菲律賓易發生地震及颱風，因此房屋的設計，一向考慮了自然災害。
Metal "typhoon ties" are used as connectors between the walls, roof and floor panels, and the homes are further reinforced with poured concrete foundations, which replace the traditional stilts.
金屬"颱風連繫材"(也稱為椽子或桁架繫帶)被使用作為牆壁、屋頂及地板面板之間的連接物，且此些房屋使用，取代傳統高蹺之澆築的混凝土地基，進一步被加強。
圖1. typhoon ties (圖援用自：https://seblog.strongtie.com/2016/07/select-connector-series-hurricane-tie/)
While this gives the structures a solid base, concrete contributes to climate change. Forlales says the company is "exploring alternative foundation systems to further make our offering more sustainable" but this is still in the research stage.
儘管這賦予此些建築物堅實的基礎，不過混凝土是氣候變遷的部分原因。Forlales 表示，該公司正在"探索替代的基礎系統，來進一步使其出售物，更可持續"。不過，這仍處於研究階段。
The company's first project was tested very quickly — in December 2020, just days after the first two homes were constructed, the region was hit by a magnitude six earthquake. CUBO's houses survived unscathed.
該公司的第一件住宅區很快被檢驗。於2020年12月，就在首兩棟房屋建成後幾天，該地區遭到六級地震的襲擊。CUBO的房子毫髮無損地倖存下來。
CUBO offers four different models, sleeping up to six residents. Each house is made to order and can be customized to include elements such as solar panels on the roof, further reducing the running costs and the carbon footprint of its residents.
CUBO提供四種不同型號，最多可容納六名居住者。每棟房子都是訂製的，因此能按顧客的要求建造。包括，進一步降低其居住者們的花費成本及碳足跡，諸如在屋頂上的太陽能板等元素。
The company is currently producing six houses per month, but Forlales says demand is much higher and he's hoping to increase supply.
"Filipinos warmly welcomed the product, because it's very familiar," he says. "They realized that it's an intuitive evolution for our local bamboo houses."
目前，該公司每月生產6間房屋。不過，Forlales表示，需求高得多。因此，他期盼增加供應。他宣稱：「菲律賓人熱烈歡迎這款產品，因為它是非常為人所熟知。他們認知到，這是一種咱們當地竹屋的直觀演變。」
The construction industry has been heavily criticized in recent years for its environmental impact. The use of materials like steel and concrete are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, while the extraction of raw resources including stone, rock and gravel degrades landscapes and soils. This has prompted a search for more eco-friendly alternatives.
近年來，建築業因其對環境的影響，一直受到嚴厲批評。儘管包括石頭、岩石及礫石等，原始資源的採掘，使得景觀及土壤劣化。不過，像鋼鐵及混凝土等，材料的使用才是溫室氣體排放的重要促成因素。這已經促使人們尋找更環保的替代品。
CUBO isn't the only company to see the potential of bamboo as a strong, sustainable building material. Vietnamese studio Vo Trong Nghia Architects has used bamboo for many of its projects, including the Casamia Community House in the Casamia Resort in Hoi An, while Shenzhen-based Zuo Studio created bamboo pavilions for the Taichung Flora Exposition in Taiwan.
CUBO並非唯一認知到，竹子作為一種堅固、可持續之建築材料潛力的公司。越南Vo Trong Nghia建築師工作室，在其諸多項目中，使用了竹子。包括於越南會安市，卡薩米亞度假村的卡薩米亞社區之家，而總部位於深圳的Zuo工作室，為在台灣的台中花卉博覽會，設計了竹榭(竹跡館)。
In Bali, Indonesia, architecture company Ibuku specializes in intricate, large-scale bamboo 'buildings'. Since 2007, Ibuku has built over 60 bamboo structures, including the Green Village, a sustainable community of 12 luxury villas and the Green School, which has a wall-free campus set in nature.
在印尼峇里島，Ibuku建築公司專門從事複雜的大型竹子'建築物'。打從2007年以來，Ibuku已經建造60多棟竹子的建築物，包括綠色村莊，一處由12棟豪華別墅及綠色學校組成之可持續的社區。該學校擁有處於自然狀態的無牆壁校園。
While bamboo has been used to build small structures for thousands of years, "it's only now that we have safe, natural treatment solutions that we can consider building multi-story buildings," says Elora Hardy, founder and creative director of Ibuku.
儘管，竹子一直被用來建造小型建築物，達數千年。不過，Ibuku的創始人兼創意總監，Elora Hardy宣稱：「唯有目前，咱們才具有，能考慮建造多層建築物之安全、自然處理的解決方法。」
While most of her projects use treated bamboo in its natural form, she adds that with advances in engineered bamboo, there could be "skyscrapers and even whole cities that can be built out of bamboo" in the future.
儘管她大部分的項目，皆使用經過處理的天然竹子。不過她附言，隨著經加工之竹子方面的諸多進步，於未來可能有"摩天大樓及甚至能使用竹子建造的整個城市"。
Engineered bamboo entered mainstream construction in the late 20th century, according to Bhavna Sharma, assistant professor of architecture at the University of Southern California and a member of the task force developing international standards for bamboo construction materials
根據美國南加州大學，建築學助理教授，兼制訂竹子建築材料國際標準之特別工作小組成員，Bhavna Sharma的說法，在20世紀後期，經加工的竹子進入了主流建築物中。
"Standards for mechanical testing of engineered bamboo materials are currently being developed; however, areas such as fire performance require extensive study," says Sharma.
Sharma宣稱：「目前，正在制訂經加工之竹子材料力學測試的標準。不過，諸如防火性能等領域，需廣泛的研究。」
As a strong, fast-growing, and renewable material, bamboo could supplement sustainably harvested hardwoods, says Sharma, with the added benefit of bamboo plantations helping to restore degraded soil and land.
Sharma表示，作為一種堅固、快速生長及可再生的材料。由於竹子種植園，有助於恢復劣化之土壤及土地的額外益處，竹子可能補充可持續收成的硬木。
While sustainability is bamboo's primary advantage, it's not the only reason CUBO is looking to the fast-growing grass as an alternative building material.
The Philippines is currently facing a severe housing shortage, with an estimated 4.5 million people living homeless in 2021, and a deficit of affordable homes.
儘管可持續性是竹子的主要優勢，這並非CUBO正對該種快速生長之禾本科植寄予希望，作為替代建築材料的唯一原因。目前，菲律賓正面臨嚴重的住宅短缺，估計在2021年450萬人無家可歸，且短缺廉價的房屋。
CUBO 's homes cost between 649,800 Philippine pesos ($12,900) to 1.8 million Philippine pesos ($35,738) -- which is roughly comparable to mid-range homes built with conventional materials, says Forlales. However, he aims to bring prices down by streamlining production and increasing automation in the workshop. The company has also introduced a payment plan, to help reduce upfront costs for buyers.
Forlales表示，CUBO的房屋成本介於，649,800菲律賓比索(12,900美元)到 180萬菲律賓比索(35,738美元)之間，這約略比得上使用傳統材料建造的中檔房屋。不過，他的目標是，藉由簡化生產及提升於工廠中的自動化，來降低價格。該公司也已經推出了一種付款計劃，來協助降低買家的前期成本。
With bamboo naturally growing throughout Asia, each country has "their own species of bamboo that you can use for construction," says Forlales -- creating potential to build cube houses beyond the Philippines, too.
"Around Asia we have millions of square kilometers that are planted with bamboo. So it's just a matter of tapping into other markets where you can get it," he adds.
Forlales表示，由於竹子在整個亞洲自然生長，每一國家皆有“其能供建築使用之自箇的竹子種類。這也創造了，在菲律賓以外，建造立方體房屋的潛力。他附言：「在亞洲各地，咱們有數百萬平方公里，被種植竹子。因此，這只是一個開發到其他市場的問題，在那裡你可以獲得它。」
備註：請參閱原文中的一些照片。
翻譯：許東榮