Bamboo is one of the oldest and most versatile building materials with many applications in the field of construction, particularly in developing countries. It is strong and lightweight and can often be used without processing or finishing. In spite of these clear advantages, the use of bamboo has been largely restricted to temporary structures and lower grade buildings due to limited natural durability, difficulties in jointing, a lack of structural design data and exclusion from building codes. The diminishing wood resource and restrictions imposed on felling in natural forests, particularly in the tropics, have focused world attention on the need to identify a substitute material which should be renewable, environmentally friendly and widely available. In view of its rapid growth (exceeding most fast growing woods), a ready adaptability to most climatic and edaphic conditions and properties superior to most juvenile fast growing wood, bamboo emerges as a very suitable alternative. However, in order to fully exploit the potential of bamboo, development effort should be directed at the key areas of preservation, jointing, structural design and codification. In addition, socioeconomic, appropriateness and technical studies will be essential to identify factors which govern current bamboo usage, and those which will influence its use in the future. Once these issues have been addressed, bamboo will be ideally placed to become a principal engineering and construction material...