Hamza Oza Royal College of Art / Imperial College London Innovation Design Engineering
Finite is a new sustainable and reusable composite material made from desert sand.
There is a common misconception that sand is an abundant resource.
Beach, river and quarry sands are in high demand and heavily used in
many industries, especially construction. Desert sand however has little
use, as its grains are too smooth and fine to bind together in
concrete. Even Dubai imports sand from other countries like Australia to
construct its buildings.
The development of Finite opens new opportunities to make use of
desert sand. Finite can be formed into structures that have the same
strength as housing bricks and residential concrete. However, compared
to bricks and concrete, the process to make Finite is simple and does
not require extreme temperatures. It is also environmentally friendly,
with less than half the carbon footprint of concrete. Most impressively,
Finite can be dissolved and then remoulded for multiple life cycle
uses. The material can be pigmented to create different aesthetics such
as marbling to suit the desired application whilst producing smooth
intricate finishes.
Finite’s
re usability and sustainable end of life has led Hamza and his team to
explore its application in short-term infrastructure projects.
Structures using Finite would be made from abundant local materials
using a simple process. Once these structures are longer needed, they
can be deconstructed thanks to their design and Finite’s unique
properties. The remaining material could then be reused, or left on-site
to safely biodegrade into the local environment.
The team hopes Finite will prove the power of building with abundant
and reusable natural materials. Hopefully relieving demand on
overexploited ocean and river sands.
Finite was developed by Hamza Oza and his team mates: Carolyn Tam, Matteo Maccario and Saki Maruyama
