Takween

Abstract

This project confronts the dual ecological crises of global river sand depletion and rapid desertification by proposing a localised, bio-integrated design intervention at the site of the Aral Sea’s desiccation. Central to this research is the development of a novel biomaterial: the microbial consolidation of hyper-abundant, aeolian desert sand into a structurally viable aggregate. Empirical testing examines a dual-material capacity within this bio-sand, yielding both a heavy, load-bearing bio concrete and bio-translucent panels. To translate these empirical material constraints into a site-specific Climate Change Museum, this project develops a bespoke computational methodology: Multi-Scalar Behavioural Formation. Executed through multi-agent swarm intelligence, the generative workflow bridges the friction between frictionless digital environments and strict physical laboratory constraints across three distinct scales. • The Macro-Scale: The swarm functions as a digital proxy for aeolian erosion, allowing the geographic memory and meteorological forces of the Aralkum desert to autonomously carve the foundational building mass. • The Meso-Scale: The swarm system is socially and structurally anchored; anthropogenic pathfinding algorithms simulate pedestrian circulation to organically carve public plazas, while integrated Karamba3D structural analysis dictates the growth of internal load-bearing columns precisely where structural vulnerabilities exist. • The Micro-Scale: The building’s envelope acts as an active thermodynamic filter. By mathematically formalising the material’s optical limits via the Beer-Lambert equation established during the physical light penetration research, localised solar radiation data directly governs the adaptive thickness and biomimetic concavity of the translucent sand panels, ensuring optimal daylighting while mitigating thermal gain. Ultimately, this thesis establishes a highly synthesised methodology where computation operates not as a top-down tool for formal mimicry, but as a rigorous engine of environmental determinism. The resulting design is fundamentally cultivated from the ecological trauma, structural realities, and human behavioural patterns of its extreme desert context.