A record-breaking 31-metre-high ice tower has been installed at the annual winter festival in Harbin, China, featuring a shape inspired by the flounces of a flamenco dancer's dress.
Students from Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) and Summa College, both from the Netherlands, and the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT) worked together to build the tower for the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival.
It is significantly taller than the 21-metre-high tower created at the fair in 2015 ? it is now being recognised as the tallest ice tower ever built.

The frozen frills and hollow cone-shaped tower were formed using icy water impregnated with cellulose fibres, which was sprayed in layers over an inflatable structure. The design team spent two years perfecting this technique, which included building a prototype model on the HIT campus last winter.
The fibre-reinforced ice is three times stronger than pure ice, allowing for a thinner structure and greater spans, as well as a faster application process. Once the ice layers are complete, the inflatable is removed, leaving behind a shell that is 25 centimetres thick on average.

Because the construction method requires only water, naturally occurring fibres and low temperatures, the structure is highly sustainable and fully recyclable. When spring arrives, it will melt away without a trace.
They team hope the technology could be applied to building temporary structures in other cold places, "or even ...