A World of Sand | Nature–Design Triennial

Connections across geography and geology are at the heart of the ongoing project A World of Sand. Inviting people to share samples of sand from all over the world, Atelier NL creates a compendium of linked objects—from glass vessels made by firing the sand to careful recordings of sand and glass samples—uniting objects, people, places, and materials via an interactive website.

On view in "Nature–Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial" through January 2020.

This video is audio described to make it more accessible.

All courtesy of Atelier NL

Nadine Sterk (Dutch, born 1977) and Lonny van Ryswyck (Dutch, born 1978), Atelier NL (Eindhoven, Netherlands, founded 2007)

[Forsage]

The World's current usage of aggregates (sand & gravel) for construction is unsustainable. And, as supplies dwindle, the urge to meet demand by mining in previously off-limits locations, potentially including protected areas, may prove irresistible. A truly global problem, not only threatening habitats for marine and freshwater fisheries and birdlife, but also putting humans in extreme danger, particularly those working on sand extraction and living in proximity to sand mining, which causes erosion, landslides and subsidence. Poorly regulated and often illegal sand removal in Indonesia has been linked to declines in sea grasses and all the species that depend on it. Many tree and shrub species in dry riverbeds are supported by groundwater retained by the river sand at varying depths, and thus extraction may affect their survival and ability to regenerate. Sand mining also increases suspended sediment in rivers, the most likely negative effects being a reduction in light penetration resulting in reduced photosynthesis, biomass and food availability. Mined areas of rivers also tend to have reduced surface flow, which may fall to levels below minimum ecological flow, the lowest flow capable of supporting a functional river ecosystem