abstract Bamboo has been one of the most important housing materials for families of all income-levels for

generations in many parts of the world. Through an analysis of methods of construction used for housing in the coffee region of Colombia, this thesis investigates the most important features of the use of bamboo in the traditional and modern techniques used to build walls, floors and structures. In conducting this research I collected extensive graphic material such as pictures, sketches, drawings and plans, from old and new town houses, rural houses, haciendas, and slums, in the three main regions of Colombia, where bamboo is the most important natural resource for construction. The first part of the study gives a general overview of construction systems for walls, floors and structures in housing using bamboo throughout the world, especially in Asia and America. The second part is a study of one of the three regions in Colombia where environment, its preservation, and its sustainability are the main issues, and it contains an analysis of the data collected from the three regions. The main part of the thesis classifies and analyses new techniques and systems that are applied in the construction of walls, floors and structures in the region of Old Caldas, Colombia.