"Sand Babel" Desert Skyscrapers Uses Sand in Construction


The desert is often associated with being a barren and desolate place. Chinese designers Qiu Song, Kang Pengfei, Bai Ying, Ren Nuoya, and Guo Shen want to breathe life among the sand dunes with their series of intelligent skyscrapers entitled Sand Babel. They utilize the characteristics inherent in the landscape to imagine these futuristic towers, which are meant as research facilities and tourist attractions. The architect's idea was an entry in the eVolo Magazine 2014 Skyscraper competition where it earned an honorable mention.

Sand Babel's towers are intended to be constructed using the latest technologies. With the sun's help and using an abundant supply of sand, the granular substance is sintered through a solar-powered 3D printer and manufactured into building material. Each structure is imagined as an independent entity with all of them interconnected by a below-ground multi-functional tube network.

The shape of each skyscraper is based on common phenomenons of the desert. Its top is modeled after tornadoes and mushroom rocks, and the base is reminiscent of an exposed-root tree trunk. The exterior's thin, spiral frame allows wind to easily move throughout it and keeps the dunes in place. Sand Babel's innovative ideas are forward-thinking ways to develop largely uninhabited areas.






Sand Babel eVolo competition entry
via [Inhabitat]

Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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