The project, which
won first prize last fall in the
Holcim Foundation’s Awards for Sustainable Construction,
proposes using bacillus pasteurii–a microorganism found in wetlands
and marshes–to solidify loose
sand into sandstone. Larsson imagines that one day he could
“force the grains
of sand to align in certain patterns, certain shapes, having the
wind blow out our voids, creating a
structure that would change and change again over the course of
a decade, a century, a millennium.”
It’s a big
departure from current anti-
desertification methods, including water conservation, soil
management, forestry, sustainable energy, improved
land use, wildlife protection, poverty alleviation. Larsson
believes that the interior of the dunes along his sandstone wall
could be used to achieve multiple goals at once–helping soil remain
fertile, providing water and
shade, and taking care of plants and animals.
If it is ever
constructed, Larsson’s sandstone wall could support the
Green
Wall Sahara initiative, which aims to plant a shelterbelt of
trees across the African continent.