Ulin wood for house column

Steel wood, is named for ulin that people at east Kalimantan said. Podium type (rumah panggung) is the traditional house at east Kalimantan due to this area is swamp. The traditional house is made from wood completely, but now new generation of people in east Kalimantan is use brick to substitute wood as wall.

Strange, this the first word that I say when I see many people in east Kalimantan use ulin wood for column of house, normally for column is made from round steel than added concrete. For house with wood wall is normal if use column from wood, but this column is applied also for wall from  brick that normally used round steel. Not only for house that have 1 level floor, house with 2 level also sometime use ulin wood for the column.

No corrosion, simple to install, economic,  strong, rigid, durable  & no creep that is major reason purpose of this wood application for column. This wood normally use for floor, very strong but not too expensive like teak wood.

First, they start build from foundation/ sloop by use stone like normal foundation that we know, than in the corner of house they install ulin wood with size 50x60mm as column. All column than connected each other as their house design. After all column ulin installed, than brick start to install to connected at each column.

The question for the civil engineering :

1. are this ulin column more strong than made from round steel ?