Architect's book touts beauty of bamboo

Knight Ridder News Service

Style and sensibility needn't be mutually exclusive. Bamboo is evidence of that.

Architect Gale Beth Goldberg is spreading the word about bamboo's virtues in "Bamboo Style," a book that encourages design and building professionals, as well as homeowners, to incorporate bamboo into architecture, decor and landscape design.

Goldberg touts bamboo as a renewable, economical resource that grows quickly and, therefore, can be harvested and regrown faster and more easily than hardwood trees. She also makes a case for bamboo's beauty when it's used in furniture and accessories or made into laminated flooring or panels that resemble hardwood.

"Bamboo Style" combines design inspiration, education on the plant's characteristics and traditional uses, instructions for growing bamboo, an overview of bamboo products and photos of bamboo artisans' work. It even includes instructions for a few decorative and useful items readers can make.

The book is published by Gibbs Smith and is priced at $39.95.