Dirt ground

CONTEMPORARY GARDENS

Dirt ground

photo: Martin Bond

What would otherwise be seen as mere emptiness – a field of common dirt – becomes the very matter of the installation: a field for free play and imagination. Visitors entering the outdoor room are suddenly surrounded by dark dunes of soil, overwhelmed by the earthy smell and sense of warm humidity. Touching the dirt, jumping barefoot on the mounds, observing the process of natural transformation of the soil itself, it is all part of the experience – no need for any other play equipment. The installation invites visitors to reconsider their relationship with the environment. It enhances the importance of soil not only as a fundamental substrate for life, but also as a source of unrestricted fun and a space of freedom which needs to be preserved in our overly built cities.

DESIGNERS / SILVIA BACHETTI, AGNESE CASADIO

Silvia Bachetti is a landscape architect trained in Berlin, where she worked for many years as a project leader at Topotek 1. Her work pushes the boundaries of landscape architecture into art, ecology and urban design. Agnese Casadio was trained in Bologna, Italy, where she works as an architect specializing on temporary installations, DIY construction and lighting, both exterior and interior. Since meeting during their architecture studies in Ferrara, Italy, they have shared a common interest in cross-disciplinary, environmentally sensitive design, leading them to collaborate on several projects across a variety of scales.