The Velvet Season
Fall 2022 updates from the studio and field
Late fall in Tbilisi brings bright light and strong winds. We’re busy in the studio with a tourism master plan for the Shuamta Gateway, near the Axali and Dzveli Shuamta Monasteries in Telavi, Kakheti. In the hills above Tbilisi, we are building gardens in Betania and Tabakhmela, and construction is underway for a residence on a ridge above Teleti.
A roundup of this season’s posts on process, people, and projects:
» Changes at Arsenal: Tracking the ecological and seasonal evolution of Arsenal Oasis with drone imagery.
» Ruderal Aesthetics: Sarah outlines a history of ruderal aesthetics in contemporary art and landscape architecture. 1
» Finding Feral: In spring 2022, Rob Holmes and David Hill, both associate professors of landscape architecture at Auburn University, toured nine salient “feral landscape” projects in western Europe, including Alter Flugplatz Frankfurt, Parc du Sausset, Parc aux Angéliques, Jardin des Joyeux, and the Girona Shores. Sarah interviewed Rob amid his tour.
» Intern spotlight: Benjamin interviewed our summer interns Anna Tsao (National Taipei University), Tilly Rigby (Edinburgh College of Art), and Marie Schega (University of Applied Sciences in Freising, Germany), who reflected on their first steps between academia and practice.
» A to Z: Meet Zizi Adamia and Archil Tsereteli, recent graduates of the Visual Arts, Architecture and Design School of the Free University in Tbilisi.
» The spoils of summer: Follow the progress of our Quarry Life Award project:“Optimizing Excavated Areas in Floodplains to Increase Biodiversity Using 3d Modeling Software.” Benjamin Hackenberger led the research effort with the assistance of summer interns Ana Tsao and Marie Schega. The posts below follow the project from fieldwork to studio research.
Bringing the Ballast - Observing riverbed mining processes.
Damba Dynamics - Earthmoving within the riverbed.
Landscape Interpretation - Identifying the multiple successional habitats on the dynamic site.
Combining Early and Late Stages - Introducing geomorphological heterogeneity to a dynamic restoration process.
Exploring a Constantly Shifting Site - Fine-tuning the form of spoil heaps to increase and diversify site habitats.
Developing a Geomorphological Toolkit - Applying parametric design tools to increase geomorphological diversity.
Working with the Pictorial Landscape - Designed Landscapes as Framework for Interpretation.
Further Research - An oscillation between disturbance and intervention.
Other news:
» Supporting a diverse profession: Professional internships are a critical part of landscape architecture education, but many students lack the financial resources to participate. To support a more diverse profession, Sarah established the Cowles Family Landscape Architecture Co-Op Support Fund at the Knowlton School, at The Ohio State University. It provides a living and travel stipend for students participating in The Knowlton Landscape Co-Op Program. The program “provides students the opportunity to gain valuable professional work experience without delaying graduation and allows firms to connect with advanced undergraduate students.” You can provide additional support to this scholarship via this link.
» Permanent Impermanence: an essay on the health landscapes of the Borjomi Plateau by Sarah Coleman, Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture at Auburn University. Sarah developed the essay during her Fulbright fellowship in Borjomi in 2021-2022. The piece is featured in this year’s Tbilisi Architecture Biennial essay collection.
First published in the 105th ACSA Annual Meeting Proceedings, Brooklyn Says, "Move to Detroit"