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A residential building designed by the architect Anna Zanetti and already built in Costa Rica using Guadua angustifolia and Dendrocalamus asper is redesigned, choosing the municipality of Bologna, in the north part of Italy, as the construction site and Moso (Phyllostachys edulis) cultivated in Italy, as structural material. The redesign is performed in the context of Italian standards. The paper demonstrates how it is possible to design a building using European bamboo, geometrically smaller in respect to the tropical one, in compliance with the Italian national standards NTC2018 with the aid of Bamboo International standards (ISO 22156). All the members are multi-culms and the connections are chosen without perforations.

One of the main concerns in using natural materials in construction, such as bamboo, regards their durability. Ultra violet (UV)irradiation is claimed as a damaging agent; therefore, it is important to study its effect. Several studies have shown that bamboo components such as lignin are subjected to photochemical degradation, but it is not well understood how this affects the mechanical properties of bamboo. The aim of this paper is to explore the correlation between photodegradation and bamboo mechanical performance. Bamboo samples were exposed to accelerated UV ageing for different times (from 6 to 360 h) and then subjected to a four-point bending test. Since one of the ways to stabilize bamboo is to thermally treat it, the tests were conducted on natural untreated bamboo and treated bamboo with a traditional flame treatment. Modifications of the chemical features of the material were analyzed with Fourier Trasform Infra Red (FTIR) spectroscopy, while modifications of the morphological features were analyzed byEnvironmental Scanning Electron Microscopy ESEM and optical microscopy observations. The results show that the bending behavior of bamboo is not compromised by UV exposure up to 360 h. In fact, although a progressive degradation of lignin is reported and cracks in the fiber walls are highlighted from micrographs, no effects were found on the fiber length.