VOLCANIC GLASS

C O M P L E T E D 2 0 2 3

This project began as a material investigation into how architecture can speak of its place, not only through form, but by revealing the unseen processes and substances that shape it. Framing the landscape as both canvas and quarry, the study explored how locally sourced sand could be transformed into glass, forming the basis of a design language rooted in the volcanic terrain of La Palma. Drawing on traditional glassmaking principles, the experiments examined how the mineral composition of beach sands affects the colour, texture, and transparency of cast glass. Sand samples were collected from beaches across Gran Canaria and melted using a three-day kiln schedule developed in collaboration with Atelier NL. The result is a catalogue of uniquely pigmented and impure glasses each specimen carrying the geological identity of its site. Rather than refining away the impurities, the resulting materials embrace them - offering a raw, site-specific aesthetic that informs the architecture to come. The project proposes that these material anomalies become narrative tools, making visible the layered histories and evolving landscapes from which they emerge.