AEOLIAN

Studio Theodore Spyropoulos

Tutors Apostolos Despotidis, Octavian Mihai Gheorghiu, Hanjun Kim

Team Ilya Katliarski, Pawin Wattanachaiyingcharoen, Selim Helse, Yun Lu

Our research addresses the process of desertification by utilising the desert’s onsite materiality and investigating its material contingency. Sand is not just the most abundant material in the desert, but one of the most plentiful on Earth with over 7.5 quintillion grains. The elemental aspect of sand is approached as a form of technology. By implementing models which force the material transformation of sand, the research is looking into the fusion of sand into glass. The process has revealed an opportunity to restructure the material’s applications for strategies of onsite fabrication of barrier-like structures, which can be employed to the physical extent of the desert. The glass structures act as an obstacle against particle movements and grow together with the dunes. 

 The structure is to be constructed under a high population of agents that locally fuse sand into the glass (as seen in the physical experiments), thereby introducing another aspect of the project: the systematic organisation of the collective behaviour of agents. The agents are programmed to be autonomous in the decision-making of on-site fabrication, the trajectory of movement, and collaborative production. The network of movements is logistically simulated following behavioural patterns found in stigmergy. This network is constantly changing with the movement of dunes and alterations to the landscape, creating a one-to-one dialogue between agents and the dynamic landscape. 

 The outcome is a spacious three-dimensional structure generated by the fabrication process. The dynamic forces of the desert will engulf the structure in layers of sand. Glazing this top layer will lead to the glass-sand-glass formation. The wind will slowly displace the sand from inside leaving a void, a space which will allow for the accommodation of habitable spaces.