As part of designer Thomas Heatherwick's campaign Humanise, a group of artists has created sandcastles "mimicking the flat, lifeless buildings all too common in our towns". More about Artists sculpt Bland Castles out of sand for Heatherwick's Humanise campaign
A team of researchers from Northwestern University has developed a "carbon-negative" artificial sand that could replace conventional sand in concrete while storing CO2. More about Researchers develop artificial sand for concrete that can sequester CO2
Stockholm-based Studio TOOJ has designed Contourage, a bright-blue table with a wood-grain pattern that was constructed from 3D-printed sand using a binder jetting process. More about Studio TOOJ 3D-prints Contourage console table from sand
The Museum of the Future in Dubai has unveiled a six-metre-long 3D-printed wall made from sand by architect and researcher Barry Wark. More about Barry Wark uses sand to make "most intricate 3D-printed wall ever"
Design studio Spacon & X created a runway installation for Danish fashion brand Stine Goya, centred by six towers of sand that collapsed as models walked by. More about Spacon & X designs Stine Goya fashion show around crumbling sand towers
Bavarian manufacturer Sandhelden has created four 3D-printed trophies made from locally sourced quartz sand from Bavaria, Germany, for a drawing competition by design and architecture collective Archisource. More about Sandhelden and Archisource 3D print sand trophies for drawing competition
Parsons School of Design graduate Zihao Fang has developed Aquastor, a biodegradable vessel designed to fight the spread of deserts that's made using only readily available local resources. More about Zihao Fang designs anti-desertification vessel based on termite mounds
Ruben van Megen invites users to co-create the Sandcastles homeware, which is launching for the VDF x Ventura Projects collaboration. More about Ruben van Megen's Sandcastles homeware references childhood memories
Swedish designer Kajsa Melchior has created a collection of furniture and lighting with organic silhouettes, shaped like geologic formations using pressure, water and air. More about Fictive Erosion furniture uses sand casting to mimic natural rock formation process
Precht and Mamou-Mani Architects have completed a sustainable sand-printed installation called Sandwaves in Diryah, Saudi Arabia. More about Chris Precht and Arthur Mamou-Mani use sand to 3D print pavilion in Saudi Arabia
Argentinian artist Leandro Erlich has created sand-covered sculptures of 66 cars and trucks, which he has arranged to resemble a traffic jam on Miami Beach in a bid to raise awareness of the climate-change crisis. More about Artist Leandro Erlich creates sand-covered traffic jam on Miami beach
London design duo Studio Ayaskan has created a clock, which rakes sand in hypnotic, concentric circles to mark the passage of time. More about Studio Ayaskan designs clock that rakes sand to illustrate the ripples of time
Produced for Milan's Dimore Gallery, seven pieces of furniture by the late artist Gabriella Crespi are installed them among piles of sand for an exhibition called Visioni. More about Dimore Gallery presents metallic Gabriella Crespi furniture amongst sand dunes
Norwegian design studio Ment has created handcrafted tableware for Snøhetta's recently completed underwater restaurant in Norway using sand and minerals taken from the surrounding coast. More about Ment designs tableware for Snøhetta's Under restaurant using local sand
Bioplastic buckets in the shape of mountains will be distributed across 25 UK beaches this summer as part of a participatory art project by artist Katie Paterson. More about Katie Paterson invites UK public to build sand mountains
A team of scientists in the UK have developed a biodegradable construction material made from desert sand – a resource that has until now been useless for construction. More about New material made from desert sand could offer low-carbon alternative to concrete
A symposium taking place at Dutch Design Week later this month will discuss the rapid depletion of the world's sand reserves, which could leave supplies of the high-quality sand used in the glass industry exhausted within 20 years. More about Sand becomes "increasingly scarce and expensive", threatening glassmaking and construction
Design studio Atelier NL is calling on people to send them sand from around the world for a project they will present as ambassadors at this year's Dutch Design Week. More about Atelier NL calls for sand samples from all over the world to make region-specific glass
These bowls are formed by a robot that injects paths of resin into sand-filled containers, forming solidified objects that are then dug out like ancient artefacts (+ movie). More about Jon McTaggart forms sand bowls using robot-injected resin
Layers of sand that resemble a mountainous landscape will gradually move and change shape for the duration of this installation by Mexican architect Frida Escobedo for skincare brand Aesop's New York pop-up shop. More about Patterns of sand shift over time in Frida Escobedo's installation for Aesop