Abstract
From forests to fields, from field to city, the living organ of Edinburgh’s soil was gradually technologized and territorialised as the ground for building. Commerciality has been its imperative for over 500 years. As a result, the organ has diminished and lives now mainly through residual spaces re-appropriated as parks, allotments and gardens. However, thankfully, Edinburgh’s soil is still pervasive. Edinburgh’s temperate ecological cycles and geological conditions have made it difficult to completely suffocate the soil. However, exacerbating the extra burden placed on the soil, in parallel, native plant species have undergone a similar marginalisation. Contemporary arrangements of landscape owe more to landscaping trends of amenity than a deep correspondence with ‘vegetal being’. PARA-Situation Edinburgh takes stock of the soil, and imagines a different future.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Conceiving the Plan |
| Subtitle of host publication | Nuance and Intimacy in the Construction of Civic Space |
| Editors | Yael Hameiri-Sainsaux |
| Place of Publication | Milan |
| Publisher | Skira Editore |
| Pages | 121-134 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Publication status | Published - 2022 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- Ecology
- Diane Lewis
- Edinburgh
- Architecture