The Value Of Sand

Atelier NL

“This is the Anthropocene, the geological epoch of the global influence of man on his planet. It’s an epoch we have got ourselves into in large part because of the profound disconnect in our awareness of the fundamental relationships between what we want and where it comes from. We have lost the ties between materials and communities, we have no narratives for our stuff. Our earth – our home – is a system and everything is connected, yet we live and think in isolated compartments and the very idea of a ‘holistic’ approach is hardly mainstream.

–Michael Welland, British Geologist & Sand Specialist

Exhibition To See a World in a Grain of Sand, Van Abbe Museum (Blickfänger). So, what is to be done? There are no simple answers, no overnight fixes, but surely we can, step by step, rebuild the bridges between our daily lives and the resources that the earth provides, re-make connections, raise awareness. Have you ever looked closely at a grain of sand? Imagined it as a small part of the world, coming from somewhere, going someplace, with its very own story to tell? It is estimated that there are as many grains of sand on the earth as there are stars in the universe. Coming from far away places throughout the world, the journey of a grain of sand is guided by water, wind, and ice over time. Sand is an invaluable natural resource that surrounds us everyday, no matter where we are on earth. By a combination of earthly processes such as geology, chemistry, and physics, the small granules have been continuously shaping for billions of years. While sand is one of the planet’s most abundant materials, its current rate of excavation far exceeds the speed at which it can renew itself. This has resulted in what scientists and sand specialists have termed a Global Sand Scarcity: a crisis which threatens our way of life as we know it today. Sand is used to construct our roads, homes, hospitals, and schools, it’s in our food and medicine, and is where we source minerals such as iron, platinum, gold, and titanium. Additionally, up to 50 billion tons per year is blockaded behind hydroelectric

dams, thus preventing its natural distribution to river, lake, and seabeds throughout the world. This shortage represents an enormous threat not only to global economies but to the environment and countless ecosystems throughout the world. Moreover, the contemporary glass industry currently uses a standardized glass mixture made up exclusively of “pure” white sands. This is because other “wild” sands are deemed as impure and inefficient, as they require a higher level of skill and knowledge to effectively be transformed into glass. Factors such as differing melting points, molten viscosity, and cooling time all contribute to the unpredictable nature of sand and the art of glassblowing. Different sands are used for different purposes, and “pure” sands are found in only a few quarries worldwide. Due to high demand, they too will one day become exhausted. Simply put, humanity’s consumption of sand is just not sustainable. At Atelier NL, we have developed the ability to work with a huge array of naturally occurring or “wild” sands. We view the diversity of this material not as an obstacle, but an opportunity to embrace its unique characteristics in an effort to explore a deeper knowledge of place and the profound connection to the world we live in. By carefully sourcing naturally occurring sand from dunes, beaches, rivers, and quarries, Atelier NL explores sustainable alternatives to today’s conventional glass industry. Our research investigates how sands from different locations possess unique properties and how these can lend their qualities to innovations in design and technology. Over the past decade, we have formulated a recipe that allows us to transform geographically specific sand into environmentally sensitive glass objects that present the unique qualities of the natural world; from silt black to sea blue, grass green to ash grey, the colours are unique to the sand’s chemical composition and region of origin. Through our research, we discover, reveal, and refine viable methods of using locally sourced sand, allowing nature the time to replenish itself, and strive to make local glass production possible at a global level.

1. Exhibition To See a World in a Grain of Sand, Van Abbe Museum (Blickfänger).

Sand Journey

In 2010 we journeyed along the historical glass trading route of the ancient Romans, collecting sands from throughout the Netherlands and Western Europe. We were interested in how the simple material could reveal the unique qualities embedded in different places, and employed scientific analysis in combination with design methodology as a means to tell these stories. By extensively researching the geological history and chemical composition of the sand, we began to understand how different locations produce wide compositional variations due to the great diversity of minerals and other components required to form individual sand grains. We carried out over a thousand glass tests in which we also experimented with the material’s reaction to different levels of heat. These experiments culminated in the creation of our first material archive called ZandBank (sand bank) – a glass library that displays a stunning array of unique colours, opacities, and fractal patterns, and reveals a vibrant story of the earth’s landscape translated through sand.

The evolution of our ability to work with sand as a raw material allowed us to push our work even further. Through a process of experimentation we were able to refine increasingly effective methods of transforming wild sand into viable, everyday glass objects. This resulted in our ZandGlas series, a set of glassware that investigates how the integration of local earth products into daily life can be a critical step towards greater environmental balance for the future. Each piece is carefully mouth-blown and hand-stamped with the name of its source in order to emphasize the complex story of sand and its origin – a conversation between the earth, sea, wind, and people over time. Since 2015 we have blown seven different ZandGlas editions, all made by fusing locally sourced sand collected from different regions in the Netherlands and Europe. With each edition we have been able to connect more deeply with place through the discovery of astounding compositional and aesthetic differences between wild sands with divergent stories of origin. The significance of these discoveries come together in tangible everyday objects that offer

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2. Sand Journey (Mike Roelofs) 3. Grains of Sand 4. Exhibition To See a World in a Grain of Sand, Boymans van Beuningen (Boudewijn Bollman) 5. ZandGlas (Blickfänger) a powerful visual representation of the diverse and unique qualities of the earth. The more the public understands the sources and stories embedded within these objects, the more likely they are to value them as the products of remarkable and irreplaceable natural resources. In 2017 we launched our collaborative artwork To See a World in a Grain of Sand, an ongoing project that seeks to map the world through sand and personal stories of place. To do this we called on the global community to contribute a sample of sand that we then melt into glass, add to our archive, and display at exhibitions, conferences, and festivals. This project integrates new perspectives into our work by encouraging people from different professions, backgrounds, and cultures to collaborate as they share their stories of sand. Through this work, we also reveal the unique colours and textures of glass from all over the globe – in one year alone we have received over 550 sand samples from 70 countries. By exploring the potentials of this raw material, we hope to re-establish a sense of place: to literally become grounded by encouraging new dialogues

around sand, the environmental implications of its usage patterns, and the earth’s potential to yield incredible beauty from the simplest stuff. To See a World in a Grain of Sand is a project that strives to create stronger ties between the earth’s materials and the communities living within it. As people learn about their surroundings, they begin to identify more deeply with place. By connecting glass and the sand used to make it to specific locations that hold personal value to people from all over the world, we can collectively give a new voice to a material that is both simple and extraordinary. Through this process, our work as designers gains new value by virtue of the stories and material that connects people to place. This knowledge becomes a part of our work and thus part of a collaborative design experience that seeks to visually translate both the history and science of our world into tangible objects. In the field of design it is important – now more than ever – to think critically about how we can employ ecologically sustainable materials in our work. Our objective is to heighten awareness about the value and potential of local and wild sands as a natural resource with particular cultural and ecological significance. Almost all of the world’s natural resources and materials are sourced from only a select few locations, thereby depleting their supply and threatening their sustainability. It is imperative to learn how to work with the earth and allow nature the time to replenish itself. When we understand these materials and their own natural cycles, we can implement new design strategies into our own lives, thus fostering a harmonious relationship with the earth.

About the Designers

Founded by Nadine Sterk and Lonny van Ryswyck in 2008, Atelier NL is a design studio that reshapes local raw materials into everyday objects that showcase the richness of the earth. Over the past decade they have developed a unique research methodology that transforms local clay and sand into ceramic and glass objects that analyze the hidden qualities and narratives of the earth. Their work calls for an expanded valuation of local sourcing and production by focusing on the graceful subtleties of the natural world and how the integration of local earth products into daily life is a critical step towards greater environmental balance. Their research-based projects aim to reveal and inspire while opening the eyes of the general public and industry specialists alike. 6 - 8 Exhibition To See a World in a Grain of Sand (Blickfänger)

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