Connor Renwick: Rive Roshan Uses Sand to 3D Print Sand in Motion

Monday, October 19, 2020

Rive Roshan Uses Sand to 3D Print Sand in Motion

3D printing has taken the world to places previously unknown, from a design standpoint and beyond. Rive Roshan, a studio comprising Ruben de la Rive Box and Golnar Roshan, reached for natural sand as their material of choice for use during Milan Design Days. On display at Rossana Orlandi will be their Sand in Motion collection, eight objects as functional art.

The dynamic sand objects consist of 98% Bavarian sand that’s an extremely soft white quartz. Though it appears fragile, these objects are extremely strong. The Sand in Motion collection features vessels, a chair, a large mirror and side tables, each named after the movement that shaped their organic and kinetic identity.

Spin Vase

But how does one print with sand? It is 3D printed inside a box filled with sand, and is excavated afterwards. The pieces turn black from the oxidation that happens in the binder as a reaction to the sand itself.

“The most beautiful thing about sand is that it is so changeable – it is easily taken up by the wind and will pour away between your fingers, yet it is also a very heavy and hard material. The movement of sand, and the patterns that movement creates in sand are so fascinating to us, through the Sand in Motion collection we have created pieces that are somehow frozen in motion. They look like organic kinetic sculptures, but they are solid and still.”