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id
cdrf2022_408
authors
Marcus Farr
year
2022
title
Bio-digital Sand Logics: Dune Sand Material and Computational Design
source
Proceedings of the 2022 DigitalFUTURES The 4st International Conference on Computational Design and Robotic Fabrication (CDRF 2022)
This paper discusses the creation of a new sand-based material, performative testing, and the computational logic involved in the design of a prototypical architectural system. Dune sand is known to be an unstable material compared to river or marine sand and as a result it is not normally used for construction. Because of this, desert regions have grown a reliance upon imported materials creating massive sustainability issues due to large scale global shipping, importation and resource extraction. This research indicates there is a viable opportunity to leverage dune sand as an ongoing line of inquiry for material science and design in local desert regions. It establishes that there is very little architectural research being done in this particular area. The methodology begins with experiments in bio-material using dune sand as a compound, and then establishes a construction system based upon a manifold of experiments. Along with material investigations, the process uses a Scientific Testing Method (STM) and Hypothesis in Action (HIA) as part of the testing methodology.