Climate-friendly building with bamboo

Building for a better future: students construct a sustainable training center made of bamboo

As part of the seminar series “Climate-friendly building” in the Architecture course at the Hochschule RheinMain (HSRM), a student excursion to Ghana took place once again in March 2025. In addition to the intensive intercultural exchange, the main aim of the trip was a two-week interdisciplinary hands-on workshop on sustainable construction with renewable building materials. On the project site of the German NGO GROW Colourful Ghana e. V., the HSRM has been supporting the planning and implementation of a bamboo training center under the direction of Prof. Sascha Luippold for two years. Various types of buildings and functional areas such as guest houses, workshops, training and infrastructure buildings are being built here in several construction phases, which will serve to develop sustainable agriculture and train local building trades.

Sustainable workshop: Building with bamboo and clay

The seminar was led by Prof. Sascha Luippold, Christoph Diekhans and Nikolai Ochs. The project is part of a broad HSRM initiative to promote renewable building materials and climate-friendly construction methods - with international cooperation projects in Ghana, Mozambique and Colombia. A strong network of locally active partners is necessary for the sustainable implementation of these socially and ecologically ambitious projects. In Ghana, HSRM students therefore work alongside international organizations such as Engineers Without Bordersand the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization in particular with the local partners Advocates for Biodiversity Conservation, Bamboo for Integrated Development Ghana as well as ISOPTERRA Earth Buildings. As the initiator of the project, the German-Ghanaian organization GROW Colourful Ghana is responsible for the overall coordination and is also a donor and patron for the sustainable success of the project.

“This year's excursion was once again a complete success. We have achieved another important milestone in the establishment of the bamboo training center, which can be built on in the next seminars.” - Christoph Diekhans, lecturer

Bamboo modular system - prototype for research project

The first infrastructure facilities of the bamboo training center were already built in 2023 by the local organizations and the Department of Architecture and Civil Engineering of the HSRM. This time, the aim was to support the construction of a hexagonal hut, which is mainly made of bamboo and clay. The building will later serve as a gatehouse and office for the training center. The design is based on a modular construction method so that the building can be extended as required. It is also the first prototype in the research project for the climate-resilient bamboo modular system for the sub-Saharan region. A second prototype is to be built in Mozambique in the fall, building on the experience gained in Ghana.

Ecology meets economy: prospects for the region

The aim of the bamboo training center is the long-term development of a local value chain around the plant bamboo, which is sustainable in many respects - from cultivation, treatment and processing to craftsmanship in the construction industry. The project not only strengthens ecologically sustainable construction methods, but also opens up new economic prospects for the rural region in south-eastern Ghana.

Practical implementation on site

In addition to the cultural exchange, the focus was on practical application: bamboo connections were made by hand, bricked with clay, roof structures erected and the first walls plastered. After ten labor-intensive days, the supporting structure of the first module and the boundary wall elements were finally completed. Building on this result, the local participants can now complete the remaining work in the coming days and weeks and connect the next modules.

Research and teaching: bamboo at the HSRM

The project in Ghana is part of a larger initiative to strengthen bamboo as a building material, which Prof. Luippold has been developing for several years in the field of climate-friendly construction in collaboration with the HSRM's Laboratory for Timber Construction. In addition to research into material and component properties, there is also international cooperation, for example: