http://www.ted.com Architecture student Magnus Larsson details his bold plan to transform the harsh Sahara desert using bacteria and a surprising construction material: the sand itself. TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

Comments

1. live in an underground sandcave made by bacterias... no thank you! what if it collapses?!!! Is it really necessary to put people in it?
   and what if the bacteria mutate to accommodate to this environment, manage to survive on its own and we loose control over it? What are the consequences if it spreads through the whole desert?
2. A Massive quartz magnifying glass (to hold up to the heat)with a widespread reflecting sheet of maybe aluminum to focus more sunlight into the magnifier could turn the sand into glass as it is excavated and could temporarily hold (if arches and domes (self supporting architecture) are exclusively used). Then the bacteria could be added from above to the highest point and would have a nonporous "mold" to follow. plus condensation collection would work better if it was lined with glass instead of sandstone.
   
   it just thought from an outside perspective, but i thought it was worth sharing.
3. I'm reminded of Morrowind... I like this plan.
4. The next step would be to teach the people how to grow the bacteria so they may build their homes themselves.
5. rather a solarpowered magnifying glass on wheels...it'll drive across the whole desert for ya.
6. SUN(heat)+SAND=GLASS(SOLID)----easier/free to make walls, don't need bacteria. build a solarpowered magnifiying glass and you'll have a solid glass wall.
7. We always needs new technology and material for the architecture !
8. It's very clever and culturally unique. It'll bring Africa even more business.
9. this guy's a genius :|
10. I'm gonna laugh if this is how they made the pyramids. Moove all those bricks?! No, we just grew them like that!
11. Dune by Frank Herbert anyone?
12. Where do we get this bacteria? I wouldn't mind building stuff out of ready-made customized sandstone bricks! No more lugging around gravel, concrete powder, and water!
13. wtf stockholm, people can abuse this system to track every individual car they want, if they get access to it
14. naive... the dunes will just rise up and swallow the trees as if they were not even there... its funny how he shows the dunes peaking just to the tree tops and stopping...... total bullshit
15. actually its the african leaders who do that
16. I like your idea, its got some feasibility issues, it could be very powerful to assist these bacteria.
17. nice
18. What about maintaining the caves? Does the sandstone weaken over time?
19. Give this technology and teaching to the Africans. White people just talk about this crap. White 'aid' has created the only continent that goes backwards in economic development. Stop raping the continent...get the hell out of there...there isn't enough ethics and morals in your societies to stop white society from using 'aid' to rape any country that it's given to
20. Does anyone what happend to this project? Is there anyone that is going to try it now?