This thoughtful volume brings overdue attention to the design potential of discarded fill, urging us to see made ground not as waste, but as material with qualities, histories, and sources. With meticulous research and interdisciplinary acuity, Geroldi reveals how the very matter we bury, conceal, or ignore can become the substance of meaningful designed landscapes. Her call to foreground legibility in sites shaped by human displacement of earth is both timely and visionary.
Julia Czerniak, Dean and Professor, School of Architecture and Planning, University at Buffalo
"All too frequently, landscape is still viewed as a picturesque reality, as though we could just travel back in time and live in a fantastical Arcadia. On the contrary, Chiara Geroldis intriguing exploration of the history of 'moved earth' reveals the intricate ways in which humans have excavated, filled, shifted, and remodelled our territories, resulting in a thoroughly man-made world."
Michael Jakob, Professor of Landscape Theory and History, Università della Svizzera Italiana - Accademia di Architettura, Politecnico di Milano, Harvard University Graduate School of Design
"'We seek with our human hands to create a second nature,' wrote Cicero, reflecting on humanity's utilitarian reshaping of landscapes. These transformations leave behind unmistakable wastemountains of excavated earth from urban development, infrastructure, and mining that resist concealment despite our efforts. This book presents the first comprehensive catalog of design opportunities for these artificial mountains of excavated ground, mining waste, and garbage. It explores how thoughtful design can transform these segregated wastelands into shared, meaningful territories."
Franco Panzini, Landscape Historian, Associazione Pietro Porcinai, President
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