Yan Xiao, an expert in structural design and retrofit in the Viterbi School's Sonny Astani Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been experimenting with bamboo-based materials for highly demanding structural uses in China's Hunan province, and recently built the world's first bamboo truck bridge there, in the city of Leiyang.

He went to nearby Sichuan province on May 13 the day after the earthquake. He returned to the Chinese Ministry of Education Key Laboratory at Hunan University, where he has been serving as director, and immediately went to work on a housing solution.

The prototype bamboo quake relief house he built in less than two weeks adopted a modular design that can be adjusted according to specific family needs.

"The modular units are connected by bolts and are easy to manufacture and assemble," said Xiao. " Four to six workers can assemble a 22.3 square meter (240 square foot) house in about 4 hours. The majority of the structural materials used are processed bamboo veneer sheets, a kind of bamboo fiber composite."

Xiao said that interior detailing is similar to the wood frame houses in the North America, noting that the design conforms to current U.S. building codes requirements for quake resistance.

"The relief house contains two windows, fans, locations for LPG stove or bath unit, satisfying basic needs for shelter for a family of up to four," he said.

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