Recently, The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) held the 2025 Annual Conference of the Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI) in Missouri, USA. The "Ninghai Bamboo Building" project, designed and constructed by Professor Yan Xiao's team from ZJUI, won the 2025 Most Innovative Project Award in the conference. It also claimed three Excellence Awards in structural system design, architectural engineering integration, and sustainability & whole-life cycle.
In addition, at the recently concluded 50th Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions 2025, Wu Ruijia and Wang Peixiang, 2020 doctoral students in Structural Engineering; Hou Yubing and Guo Weichang, 2022 master's students in Civil Engineering and Hydraulic Engineering; and Li Xinlei and Bai Yafeng, 2023 master's students in Civil Engineering and Hydraulic Engineering, won a Silver Medal at the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions for their "high-rise bamboo structure" technology. Another Silver Medal was awarded to the "structural multi-functional loading system" technology, which was jointly developed by Wu Ruijia, 2020 doctoral student in Structural Engineering, Zhang Xiangfei 2024 doctoral student in Civil Engineering and Hydraulic Engineering, and postdoctoral researcher Xiao Ziling.
▲ Professor Yan Xiao's team has received the certificate and trophy for the ASCE AEI Award as well as three Excellence Awards.
▲ Wu Ruijia, 2020 doctoral student in Structural Engineering, accepted the award on behalf of the team.
▲ ZJUI doctoral students Wu Ruijia and Zhang Xiangfei participated in the 50th Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions on behalf of the team and won two silver medals.
The "Ninghai Bamboo Building" project stood out among numerous projects with its remarkable innovations and outstanding practices in multiple dimensions.
In terms of structural innovation, the project pioneered the use of modern engineered bamboo as the main material, integrating lightweight bamboo-wood shear walls, steel-bamboo composite components, and Cross-Laminated Bamboo-Timber (CLBT) technology. It also incorporated the recycling of waste concrete and masonry, achieving innovative design and construction of high-rise bamboo structures. This system performed excellently in seismic, wind resistance, and durability tests, providing a new technical path for sustainable building structure design.
The Ninghai Bamboo Building has seven floors, including six standard floors and an attic, with a total height of 20.3 meters and a total construction area of approximately 800 square meters. It is currently the tallest engineered bamboo structure building in the world.
From the perspective of low-carbon sustainability, as a fast-growing renewable resource, bamboo has a significantly lower carbon footprint than concrete and steel, aligning with the global trend of low-carbon buildings. Data from Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) shows that the full-cycle carbon emissions of the Ninghai Bamboo Building are reduced by over 30% compared to traditional buildings, with the emission reduction in the building material production stage exceeding 80%, setting a model for the green building sector.
Notably, the Ninghai Bamboo Building project skillfully integrates cultural inheritance with modern technology. While inheriting the aesthetics of traditional bamboo architecture, it incorporates modern structural technologies and monitoring systems, endowing the building with both Oriental charm and technological functionality.
▲Ninghai Bamboo Building Project
The "Ninghai Bamboo Building" project, which has won authoritative awards in the international architectural engineering field, not only provides a valuable innovative practice for the development of global sustainable architecture, but also demonstrates ZJUI's continuous dedication in the research field of modern bamboo structures. Its related technical practices have injected new impetus into low-carbon urban and rural construction and the green transformation of the construction industry.
