Buildings in the Desert: Sand and Bacteria

Image taken from the Holcim Foundation website.

Full image available here:

http://www.holcimfoundation.org/Portals/1/images/holcim_imagegallery/A08AMEng12-006f.jpg

Architect Magnus Larsson presented his novel project idea in a Ted talk recently, in which he proposed to halt the expansion of the Saharan desert by using the sand itself. His construction idea involves the use of a bacteria (bacillus pasteurii) which can be used to turn ordinary sand into sandstone.

Read more about the science behind this new bio material:

http://www.sil.ucdavis.edu/projects-bsi.htm

Read more about the architect's projects and ideas on his website:

http://www.magnuslarsson.com/architecture/dune.asp