A student has released a plan to turn the Sahara landscape into habitable structures using bacteria.

The microorganism bacillus pasteurii is being studied by a team at UC Davis for its ability to solidify the ground in earthquake-prone areas.

Magnus Larsson says he intended to use bacteria to build a 6,000km-long sand wall, for which a team at University College London will aid in the initiative to solidify sand.

Larsson has been awarded first prize at the Holcim Awards for his “Dune anti-desertification architecture Sokoto, Nigeria”.

The architect is working towards the next stage of the project – a life-sized prototype.