NewsGlobal Experts Drive Bamboo Standards at the 36th ISO/TC165 Plenary Meeting in Nanjing
Experts gathered in Nanjing to advance bamboo construction standards, focusing on new developments and revisions to drive sustainable building practices worldwide.
The 36th Plenary Meeting of the Technical Committee on Timber Structures of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO/TC165) was successfully held in Nanjing, China, from 23 to 26 September 2024. Over 80 experts from more than 20 countries participated both online and offline. Since the early 2000s, INBAR, an A-category liaison organization with ISO/TC165, has actively collaborated with ISO to advance the development of international standards for bamboo structures. In 2013, INBAR initiated the establishment of Working Group 12 (WG12) on the Structural Use of Bamboo under ISO/TC165 and has since served as the convener.
This plenary marked the first in-person meeting of ISO/TC165 since the COVID-19 pandemic, during which offline collaboration was limited. Despite the challenges, INBAR, as the convener of WG12, facilitated remote discussions through video conferences, emails, and calls, enabling experts to reach consensus on technical issues. These efforts led to the successful drafting and revision of several international bamboo structure standards, including the ISO 22156:2021 Bamboo Structures — Bamboo Culms – Structural Design; the ISO 23478:2022 Bamboo Structures — Engineered Bamboo Products – Test Methods for Determination of Physical and Mechanical Properties; and the ISO 5257:2023 Bamboo Structures — Engineered Bamboo Products – Test Methods for Determination of Mechanical Properties Using Small Specimens. Additionally, the standard ISO/FDIS 7567 Bamboo Structures — Glued Laminated Bamboo — Product Specifications is in its final draft stage.
During the WG12 meeting, two new standards were confirmed for development: Bamboo Structures — Bamboo Scrimber Products — Product Specifications, led by Professor Li Haitao of Nanjing Forestry University and Professor Mahmud Ashraf of Deakin University, Australia, and Bamboo Structures — Engineered Bamboo — Structural Design Specifications, led by Chief Engineer Xu Qingfeng of the Shanghai Research Institute of Building Science Co. Ltd. and Professor Kent Harries of the University of Pittsburgh, USA. These standards, once launched, earned support from experts across 10 countries, including Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Colombia, India, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the UK, and the USA. Meanwhile, the standards ISO 22157:2019 Bamboo Structures — Determination of Physical and Mechanical Properties of Bamboo Culms — Test Methods, and ISO 19624:2018 Bamboo Structures — Grading of Bamboo Culms — Basic Principles and Procedures have entered the revision stage, led by Dr. David Trujillo from Coventry University, UK.
ISO/TC165 WG12 experts engaged in on-site discussions during the plenary meeting in Nanjing.
The WG12 meeting was chaired by Liu Kewei, Coordinator of the INBAR Global Bamboo Construction Programme, INBAR TFC, and Convener of ISO/TC165 WG12. During the meeting, the Chairman of ISO/TC 165, Ying Hei Chui, expressed his sincere gratitude to all the partners for their support to the success of this plenary session, and praised the high-quality work produced by WG12.
INBAR remains dedicated to advancing bamboo research, utilization, and development in sustainable construction worldwide. In 2014, it launched the INBAR Bamboo Construction Taskforce (INBAR TFC), which continues to attract global experts to participate in the development and revision of international bamboo standards, providing a strong foundation for the progress of ISO/TC165 WG12.
