Bamboo scaffolding: why Hong Kong is among the last cities using centuries-old building method
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- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
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Hong Kong has more skyscrapers than any other city on Earth, but local builders rely on a uniquely anachronistic building technique - bamboo scaffolding - to construct even the highest of high-rises. Why is Hong Kong one of the last cities still using the centuries-old method and what makes bamboo such an ideal material for scaffolding?
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I don't think they'll ever go away due to the fact that their an easy and cheap alternative to steel. Especially for smaller projects.
They're not used anywhere else. Bamboo scaffolding is already gone.
and most climate friendly
cheap yeah but how many bamboo need to chop when steel last forever
@@sdqsdq6274 you realize bamboo belongs to "grass" family right? it grows rapidly, thus making it way more sustainable than steel
@@kakomagic Nooooo
You just have to get your steel from the sea of blades
Iron razors jutting from parched earth
Bamboo scaffolding is still used often in my hometown Karachi, Pakistan. Since we are a relatively poor country, bamboo is very cost effective hence its commonality.
You don't know the cost figures.
In India too. But they are mostly used in smaller buildings.
Bamboo scaffolding is almost used in all south Asian countries but it is used for constructing relatively smaller buildings and different counties around the world but in hongkong it's even in use for constructing high skyscrapers.
Same in India
Dame for bangladesh
Seeing bamboo scaffolding brings a smile to my face. It's been a mainstay in my childhood and even though I've since moved to another country, bamboo scaffolding still holds a special place in my heart
It's something that we grew up seeing and didn't realize how special it is until we're not home anymore :) It brings a smile to my face as well when watching how special this technique is and how they're admirably done on skyscrapers.
Here in Brazil the use of bamboo in construction is recent - it is not traditional - but it has increased a lot in recent decades. There are currently many courses on bamboo construction techniques.
@@dartvader2353 Sim, é mais o pessoal alternativo, ecologista, esotérico quem está promovendo a utilização do bambu aqui no Brasil. Existem muitos cursos se você procurar na net, mas ainda é muito pouco. Mas no ritmo em que estamos destruindo nossas matas e exportando nossas madeiras, em breve só vai restar bambu para ser usado. Não acredito que o bambu venha a ser utilizado no Brasil para a construção de andaimes (como mostrado no vídeo) mas à medida em que o preço das madeiras nobres tem aumentado também aumenta o interesse pelo bambu em aplicações estruturais e como madeira para diversas aplicações como revestimento e decoração.
That is a disgrace
While most countries got rid of or is phasing it out, Brazil is newly adopting this method? Thats interesting.
here in Indonesia, some places still using bamboo for scaffolding, but not for skyscrapers.
Of course u can't, those bamboo plants will cried for baldness
"Don't worry, chinese bamboo is very strong."
-Jackie Chan 😂😂
Unfortunately the rope isnt as strong
But the duct tape, does not.
Yooooooooooo... I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT THAT!!!
_"This place is worse than Omashu!"_
- Cabbage Merchant
Bamboo is the carbon fiber equivalent of such building materials. It is greener than anything and 100% recyclable.
And it doesn’t stop growing!!
@@Felicia594 so much could be made from bamboo but just isnt. Best case is outdoor food. Bamboo forks and knives are awesome. Even the straws made from bamboo fiber are great.
@@Felicia594 Unless it gets chopped off
It kind of is Carbon Fiber. It is Carbon, fibrous, and tubular.
@@nulnoh219 Therefore it's living carbon fiber.
For low scale construction, bamboo remains the go to choice for construction in Asia. But for large scale, not only the concern of safety but also efficiency since tying up thousands of bamboo stalks require lots of time and effort.
I wish we could see bamboo equivalent of processed timber like CLT and GluLam because bamboo is really sustainable material.
We still use it in India too I believe. They used it while building the home I live in. I used to climb on top of those bamboo scaffolding, it was quite exciting and there was a nice breeze on the top during Summers.
yep it's normal everywhere in low rise building, but not like hongkong though, they use it for skyscraper.
Absolutely fact check
Not in my state we use steel now with connectable pipes
90% 0f us Inddians d0nt have acess t0 t0ilet
@@Superpooper-2020 The heck are you on about? Are you a troll? Is that why you decided to reverse the statistics? As soon as you see an Indian comment you pretend to be one and make fun of it.
it’s not just in Hong Kong, also in Macau!, a lot of building constructions here in Macau still use bamboo scaffolding..
Shenzhen has m0re skyscrapers than newy0rk
Here in Singapore, too.
But it's not cost savings. It's because some companies employ workers that are used to work with bamboo scaffolding.
Ya, I do see them a lot here too, especially now that it seems like the constructions never end.
It’s common in all of China.
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I love it when videos don't answer the question they raised in the title.....
Fantastic bamboo. Such a magnificent plant. I love everything that was made from bamboo.
Bamboo scaffolding is iconic and immortalised in the Jackie Chan movie.
There are road bike using bamboo instead of fiber glass. It’s very strong and light.
Stop lying!!!!!! As a proud American i have never seen one before!
@@victoriaregina8344 comes to show how narrow sighted such “proud” Americans are
@@nguyenminh7780 i think that guy’s still a kid
@@nazbmn242 shhhh, we're about to watch an American discover other countries exist
@@nguyenminh7780 Bruh i'm sure it's sarcasm.
This is a very well made and informative video, love the illustration and how every step is explained. I think HK will still use it cause this is the safest tool when there is typhoon coming up, and we all know that HK is very prone to typhoon for a long period of time per year. But there would be probably a decline in bamboo scaffolders if the pay isn’t high and the job risky… I remember when I was in Hong Kong, I was filming these scaffolders and one of them told me why would I film them? And that this is nothing special nor beautiful to see.
I so disagree with him, cause this is a work of art. Not only, HK is among the last if not the last to still practice this, but this is also extremely impressive to see the scaffolders climbing up so fast and executing the work with so much strength and precision, without scare of height.
Anyway, thanks SMCP for this video and making us appreciate these workers and this scraftmanship even more.
the person who got crushed by a loose section of bamboo scaffolding falling down on her two typhoons ago wouldn't quite agree though... XP
India 🇮🇳, is one of the last too. I've seen construction companies using bamboos till date. ❤️ One of the top reasons to keep using this method is they are environment friendly, used bamboos can also be used to make other furnitures.
no its because your country is 3rd world
The difference is that Hongkong does it on their Skyscrapers, most of Asia still do use bamboo on low-rise structures.
@@jameschristophercirujano6650 you're right.
No, the top reason is because the cost is lower.
Environmental friendly is just the word to mask high risk and can't afford.
Does environmental friendly more important than the workers life?
@@leolow2057 environmental friendly? Proud indians try to cover countries poverty
Pls Ive been looking for this for a long time and finally I found u!! You're literally a life saver. It kinda took a while to download but it still worked.
The ilustrations are really pretty
It's also being used in big cities like Mumbai in india
Bamboo is strong, but the weakest link: thin plastc straps that tie it together - not so much.
The crucial flaw of using bamboo scafold is durability. It can't stand months long construction and the joint that connects it. The only reason they use it because it's cheap af.
I agree steel is better
They use jute fibre ropes
@@KurniawanRamadhan213 That sounds sketch trusting my life on those poles lol
@@KurniawanRamadhan213 yeah seeing this to built skyscrapers is a pain to watch. Having a bunch of people just for checking and maintaining and rebuilding it all the time while other groups do their construction. Guess in the long run its just cheaper buying steel
I am bamboozled that this works.
The video didn't answer the question it starts to enquire, it just provided pros and cons.. I was waiting
It used to be a prevalent building method in Taiwan when I was a kid. But we shifted to metal scaffolding over the years due to safety regulations. I think the reason for the phase-out was that cultivated organic material like bamboo is much harder to get consistent quality assurance compared to manufactured metal scaffolds.
its so strong that it can hold shang-chi fight.
lol 😆
Its used widely in nepal for construction
Here in Bangladesh, some buildings have bomboos inside the concrete beam instead of steel bars.
I'm the bamboo seller in India and here bamboo is used for construction purposes as well as interior decorations
I remember seeing Bamboo scaffolding in Shanghai (and every other Chinese city I went to) all the time in the past few years. Didn't know they are less common now.
Because of a fire accident in shanghai which killed over 40 people. The sparks from unlicensed wielders lighted up the flammable nets on the bamboos, and the fire spread because of the bamboos.
Bamboo is light, durable, and cheap.
The answer is straight and simple:
Cheap. Light. Durable. Cost-effective.
It's not because of strength of bamboo. It's because Chinese steel industry has collapsed. 😁😂🤣😅
I still see bamboo scaffolding here in Indonesia albeit not often, only once in awhile. My guess is old constructors still use bamboo and new one with their steel, they coexist.
- cheap
- lightweight, doesn't burden the building much,
- strong, if you consider the weight,
- scalable, from house to skyscraper, round or square buildings,
- it's safer
Safer.
- Overload
It bends before fracture - visual,
loud noise during fracture - hearing,
easy & fast to fortified - using expert,
- Fall
It bends, absorb partial impact,
It fracture instead of instant brake, giving chance to move to safety.
...what? for small building maybe but not skyscrapers.
When skyscrapers need partly maintenance, Bamboo scaffolding is still the best choice for cost and efficiency
We still use bamboo scaffolding in Nepal.
Well, we still use bamboo scaffolding in India. Not for high rise but for normal buildings about 3 or 4 floors tall.
That is why Hong Kong old buildings (ie Tung Lau) are kept and maintained very well... Salute to the hard-working workers!
When I first went to live in HK I found the Bamboo Scaffolding fascinating, especially when they came to prepare the little building I was living in for renovation. It was just one of many reasons I grew to love the city.
I wonder if the traditional supply chain makes bamboo cheap. Once labour and farmland costs rise to a certain point as it has been doing in mainland China for the past few decades, perhaps steel (which is far more reusable) scaffolding will finally take hold in Hong Kong.
The fact that bamboo can only be safely reused 3 times is telling of an obvious cost efficiency ceiling.
as a person who lives in hong kong, i can say that they sometimes build bamboo scaffolding on high levels without the bamboo reaching the floor
In south asian countries bamboo scaffolding is quite common from building houses to building skyscrapers
I'm amazed to see you people getting surprised with this method
same in BD ;) 🇧🇩
Bro the entirety of India uses bamboo scaffolds
Kawayan (Filipino)
Buluh (Malay)
Bambu (Indonesian)
It's a skill I could see being usefull in countries with less resources in both energy and material. I'd export the skill to those places capable of both the growth needed for the bamboo and with a rising need for development / cheaper alternatives for building. I don't think the market for such skill is dead, I think it's just untapped.
Not only in Hong Kong but it is also pretty much of a usual scene for the people of Bangladesh to see bamboo scaffolding
bamboo scaffolding is widely used in asia . india bangladesh too . its just cheaper
I've done a little research. HK is NOT the last place to see bamboo scaffolding. It's seen in many places in mainland China as well, such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Hainan, etc. Some commentators in HK forums say that it looks backward. Some say that it's not safe for the workers. I disagree. First of all, safety is no longer a concern because there are already strict regulation regarding to bamboo scaffolding in place in HK. Secondly, if it's a cheaper and easier option, why not? HKers like to complain how high the house prices are but now when the developers adopt a cheaper scaffolding option, they complain as well. Are they mad?
@TPNS_SWAT 07 Perhaps SCMP should make the effort to list out the 'last cities' in the world to avoid being misleading.
Because although the developers adopt a cheaper scaffolding option, the property prices only goes up. Hence, the HKers complain. The developers owned way too many land parcels in the city, and prices are being monopolised. Cheaper scaffolding options, whether safe or not, only represent that the developers’ profit margins are not affected in anyway due to rising cost of materials. I read somewhere that the Chinese Govt is going to reclaim more land from the sea to dilute the developers’ land hoard. That could be one saving grace for the HKers, but it gonna be years way…
do these other places use it for skyscrapers tho?
are you saying subsets of 7.5M people in Hong Kong cannot have opposing individual opinions? you must be unfamiliar with this concept considering your upbringing.
It's used all the time in Sri Lanka.
Bamboo is strong and pliant and used by many Asian countries, don’t belittle bamboo.
we still using Bamboo scaffolding in Bangladesh 🇧🇩
You may also see this in a movie like the Marvel's Shang-Chi - Hong Kong scene.
Bamboo scaffolding has been in use for centuries….in India…😀👍
I still see bamboo scaffolding in the outskirt but not Jakarta, Indonesia. Maybe in the future, bamboo usage could be upgraded and diversify into better usage.
In fact Bamboo scaffolding is still very common in China, although large building contractors do not use Bamboo scaffolding because they need standardization and efficiency, while some private construction houses, for example if you hire a small construction team to build a house for yourself, many still use Bamboo scaffolding because they are cheap and recyclable.
Actually it’s being used everywhere in South Asia so it’s actually used by more 1,5mbillion people so calling it last in Hong Kong is pretty wild.
Yeah, but they use it for skyscrapers
Wish everyone a joyful and happy day!
In sri lanka we also mostly used these in centuries
It is still pretty common in the Philippines, like every construction you can see it except for the tall buildings
Over here in Kerala they also use Bamboo for scaffolding.
how is everyone failing to realize the reason bamboo is used is because the chinese refuse to enforce safety regulations and do everything at the lowest cost
Its lite and strong also easy to carry
Bamboo scaffolding is already a traditional in Asian countries
Fun fact: Jack Burton defeated Lo Pan in San Francisco's Chinatown decades ago.
In India also it's used for scaffolding purposes .
Nepal is also still using them
South China Morning Post: Hong Kong is the last city to use Bamboo, Indian builders : Hold my beer
Lo Pan from "Big Trouble In Little China?"
Not to mention bamboo literally grows making it infinite resource
To answer your question, noo its not stronger then steel however its cheaper then steel
I think they do this in the Philippines, but mostly in small-scale residential projects outside big cities.
I have live in Shanghai before. Bamboo scaffolding is all over the city
Bamboo scaffolding is still prominent in India.
We in India have been using this system for thousands of years and still using it.
No toilets in India.
we have as well used this for thousands of years, sadly mainland decided to switch to metal bars which is also more heavy and worse for transportation
@@helloworld9996 No toilets in mainland China
@@helloworld9996 so indians life and safety is not important?
@@leolow2057 how did that conclution come from?
You can tell the narrator is British since he says Aluminium.
Which is more green? Bamboo or metal scaffold?
so they're making a Minecraft Scaffolding to a real thing..
other way around
If you have a degree, i would like to speak to your superior.
other way around bro
Effects of too much gaming
brain dead replies detected here
In India also we use bamboo in construction work
There is whole nation that I know of who uses still uses bamboo
It's more rigid, but it's not stronger.
My guess- strength to weight ratio, abundance of raw materials and low cost. Makes sense.
And as many legends has said it, "Chinese bamboo is very strong"
i get that reference. LOL..*breaks*
nice video
If someone managed to invent a knot gun of sort to tide the knots, it might help streamline the training process and time required on the job, attracting more people to the field.
4:25 lol we can send from India we have millions of them lol 🗿🤣 so chill
Oh I didn’t realise it was a “few place” specific thing. I live in HK, I’m so used to it, I don’t even bat an eye. Now that I think of it, yea all the places outside of HK I’ve been in, I’ve never seen bamboo scaffolding. Huh. Cool
Please make a video about the green mesh they put over the bamboo scaffolding.
Not only hongkong even now in my village in bihar (india )it is still used..
I remember that scene in Rush Hour
south asia ;- " first time?''
مرد کی سب سے بڑی بد صورتی
اسکی خالی جیب ہوتی ہے 😥
I thought this was for the whole world! Now I know😊
Stronger for natural disaster, example: earthquake.
Indonesia still using bamboo too
Can you please answer the question from the title...? -.-
Bamboo and wood is still used for almost every single scaffolding here in Indonesia
Wow, the Chinese version of Minecraft is real weird looking…
nicely animated and explanation thank you
what about when it rots?
Bamboo is still very common in most asian countries but for smaller buildings not skyscrapers.