Holcim Awards 2008 Africa Middle East

"Next Generation" 1st prize: Dune anti-desertification architecture, Sokoto, Nigeria

View presentation courtesy of TED and YouTube by architecture student Magnus Larsson which details his bold plan to transform the harsh Sahara desert using bacteria and a surprising construction material: the sand itself. The project “Dune anti-desertification architecture, Sokoto, Nigeria” received the Holcim Awards 2008 “Next Generation” 1st prize for region Africa Middle East.

Type of project:
Architecture (research/development)
Start of construction:
N/A
Author:
Magnus Larsson, student, Stockholm, Sweden

Project Summary
Dune antidesertification architecture is a project proposed in response to the Green-Wall Sahara initiative. At the cutting edge of biotechnology, the plan is to use microorganisms to bind loose sand into sandstone to create structurally stable dune-like formations. These dunes protect new oases in which people displaced by desertification can live.

Jury member Holger Wallbaum(left) congratulates Holcim Awards "Next Generation" 2008 1st prize winner  Magnus Larsson for "Dune anti-desertification architecture, Sokoto, Nigeria"