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Dune: Arenaceous Anti-Desertification Architecture

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Macro-engineering Seawater in Unique Environments

Part of the book series: Environmental Science and Engineering ((ENVSCIENCE))

Abstract

A single grain of sand is almost nothing: a splinter of rock, a miniscule fragment of a geological formation, the residue of a microcosmic event. Myriad grains together, however, become almost everything: mesmerising landscapes, vast deserts, a fluid material capable of being transformed into solid structures, and, ultimately, flourishing cities. In aggregates of sand, interlocking angular quartz grains, we find fascinating forms and emergent patterns; possibilities, potentials, substance. In short, we find a constant unfolding of interactive opportunities (Balmond 2002).

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Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank Alex Kaiser and Fredrik Nordbeck for their invaluable assistance in producing the images accompanying this text. Thanks to Steve Hardy and Jonas Lundberg, unit masters of Dip 16, as well as technical tutors John Noel, Wolf Mangelsdorf, and Michael Weinstock, all at the Architectural Association in London. At University College London: Adrian Jones, Claire Cousins, and particularly John Ward. Stefano Ciurli at the University of Bologna. Jason DeJong at University of California at Davis. Jonathan Boxerman for enthusiastic tafoni guidance. Tosin Oshinowo and Papa Omotayo in Nigeria. Geoff Manaugh at Bldgblog. Chris Anderson and Bruno Giussani at TED. Steve Hardy and Stefano Ciurli, again, for generously agreeing to referee this chapter. And finally Madelaine Levy, the most vigilant and occasionally acerbic editor on the planet, for tirelessly supporting the seemingly impossible. Any remaining errors and omissions are, of course, my own.

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  1. Architectural Association, London, UK

    Magnus Larsson

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  1. Magnus Larsson
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Correspondence to Magnus Larsson .

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  1. Candida Oancea Inst., Polytechnic University Bucuresti, Spl. Independentei 313, Bucuresti, 060042, Romania

    Viorel Badescu

  2. Geographos, W. Olive Avenue 1300, Burbank, 91506-2225, California, USA

    Richard B. Cathcart

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Larsson, M. (2010). Dune: Arenaceous Anti-Desertification Architecture. In: Badescu, V., Cathcart, R. (eds) Macro-engineering Seawater in Unique Environments. Environmental Science and Engineering(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-14779-1_20

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