Like the chambers of a seashell eroded over time by sand and water, the white hollows of this subterranean museum offer a series of organically shaped spaces tucked beneath the dunes. The UCCA Dune Museum by OPEN Architecture draws inspiration from both children digging in the sand at the beach and the caves that housed humanity’s earliest artworks to create an intriguing complex that interacts with the natural setting.

Daringly set back just a few meters from the water, the art museum along the coast of northern China’s Bohai Bay aims to be “a return to primal and timeless forms of space.” While some might see the development of such a structure in a sensitive natural area as an intrusion, the architects say they chose this location specifically because the presence of the museum will prevent the dunes from being leveled to make way for ocean-view real estate developments, which has already happened along much of the shore.

“A series of cell-like contiguous spaces accommodate the Dune Art Museum’s rich and varied programs, which include differently-sized galleries and a cafe,” the architects explain. “After passing through a long, dark tunnel and a small reception area, the space suddenly opens up as visitors enter the largest multifunctional gallery. There, a beam of daylight from the skylight above silently yet powerfully fills the space.”

The sea, sand and sky join together with the sinuous curves of the building and its ovoid openings to interplay with the artwork on display inside, resulting in a singular experience that simply can’t be recreated when the art travels to different museums. Even varying weather conditions and times of day, with their varying levels and angles of light, alter the visitor’s perception of the art and how it feels in the space.

Walking through the museum’s interiors can feel like navigating a secret network of underground tunnels, and then the contrast of dark and light, under and over, interior and exterior is revealed at the top of a spiral staircase that opens up to the sky. In the near future, a companion museum called the Sea Art Museum will rise from the water itself, visible from the dunes.

Designed by OPEN Architecture and sited along the Chinese coast near Beijing, this building complex is a mysterious maze of fluid concrete shells, all of which will be reburied under sand when construction is complete, restoring the appearance of the beach.

The monumental and cavernous Dune Art Museum is meant to evoke primal imagery, tying modern experiences back to ancient human cave-dwelling (and cave-drawing) ancestors.

Below ground, the spaces are designed to fit different programs, including gallery, studio, cafe and bookstore areas. The entry is a long, dark tunnel, further heightening the sense of removal from the surface (punctuated by light from skylights above).

Museums naturally need a lot of protection from natural light to control aging, making an underground one an obvious choice in a lot of ways. Some spaces not requiring this isolation, however, will have views out to the sky and Bohai Bay beyond where they can watch the tides roll in.

has released the latest construction photos of the Dune Art Museum topping out in a Chinese coastal city near Beijing. The art museum manifests itself as a complex of interconnected concrete shells, which in the next and final stage of construction, are to be buried in sand and shrubs to restore the natural silhouette of the dunes on the beach.

“The Dune Art Museum is the first installment of the project, Dialogue by the Sea. The second installment will feature the Sea Art Museum, a dock-like structure to be constructed offshore. The two museums will be connected by a narrow stone passage, accessible only at low tide.

“While construction has not yet begun for the second installment of the project, the Dune Art Museum is expected to be completed this year.”

When it rains, it can pour, but in the world’s drylands the net result can be disastrous: flows of water washing away useful soil and what little gets left behind dries up, forcing locals to take long treks to find more during dry seasons. Unless, that is, these flows are stopped by sand dams.

Sand dams are simple but effective on multiple levels. Like normal dams, they involve walling off areas where water flows — channels that turn into streams and rivers when it rains. They trap water (up to millions of gallons per dam), which can sink into the sand for longer-term storage above the dam (then be tapped via pipes below).

Sand dams also help keep valuable soil in place, preserving and creating new areas of arable land around them. The sand also helps filter and protect these water sources from contamination and disease.

So far, the charity pioneering these (called Excellent) has worked in multiple countries across Africa to construct around 1,000 sand dams, but they are branching out, too, aiming to take this technology to South America and South Asia as well. Their strategy is to partner with communities, helping them build out sand dams and spread knowledge of their construction as well.

“Sand dams transform lives,” explains the charity. “They provide a sustainable, clean, local source of water for rural communities, saving time and creating opportunities for farming, education and poverty alleviation. By breaking the cycle of dependence Sand Dams create choice; freeing people to realise their own potential.”

Brutalist architecture is often criticized for seeming cold, impersonal and out of human scale, but the same can’t be said for these structures when they’re miniaturized and ephemeral, destroyed in seconds by the sea. In fact, when they’re crafted out of sand on a beach, outside their usual context, we can appreciate the beauty of their geometry more than ever. Calvin Siebert’s modernist sand castles might just be better than the real thing.

While staying on Rockaway Beach in Queens during the summer, the professional sculptor and self-described ‘box builder’ crafts amazingly complex architectural structures that remain in place just long enough to photograph them, inevitably washing away. You might say that nature is… brutal.

While it’s not hard to imagine seeing some of these designs in the hills of Los Angeles, using sand as a medium enables Siebert to get more creative than the average architect in envisioning fantasy structures that could translate to concrete.

He doesn’t start with sketches, plans or even anything particular in mind, preferring to work intuitively, allowing the forms to take shape. He’s been creating these temporary works of art for the past six years, and has thousands of photos documenting them on his Flickr.

“Building ‘sandcastles’ is a bit of a test,” he says. “Nature will always be against you and time is always running out. Having to think fast and bring it all together in the end is what I like about it… once I begin building and forms take shape I can start to see where things are going and either follow that road or attempt to contradict it with something unexpected.”

“In my mind they are always mash-ups of influences and ideas. I see a castle, a fishing village, a modernist sculpture, a stage set for the oscars all at once. When they are successful they don’t feel contained or finished. They become organic machines that might grow and expand. I am always adding just one more bit and if time allowed I wouldn’t stop.”

A makeshift wooden walkway winds along a strand-lit and tree-lined path between dunes, creating a surreal environment within the context of this historic church.

Set in a religious space in Toulouse, this strange journey is punctuated by small vignettes that speak to the history of the place. In addition to physical installations and visuals, the space features a soundscape of whispered voices playing in the background and array of carefully generated aromas.

Along their way through the sandscape, visitors will find a full campsite nestled in the low hills as well as other small shelters with pots, pans, bedding and fireplaces – temporary and nomadic signals juxtaposed with a sturdy historical structure.

The materials date from various ages, including modern plastics as well as ancient-looking tents of rough-hewn wood and fabric. The end result fits the artist’s aim of “creating a timeless experience outside known references.”

Nor is the experience entirely static – live persons add dynamism to the mix. Artist Hans Op De Beeck “has staged a number of serene figures that quietly perform mundane, everyday acts. From time to time, these silent live performers offer tea to visitors.”

“Overall, the ‘Garden of Whispers’ incorporates a range of historical, religious and mythological references, yet most importantly, aims to offer a profound experience of the present, regardless of explicit references.” The temporary installation will be open to the public through this November.