The Landscape Post-Mortem

Abstract

The research conducted at the beginning of the graduation year revolved around the indeterminate forces that shape the built environment, resulting in the formation of many ‘ephemeral’ cities along the new silk road. As such, the main outcomes from the research stage resided in the definition of the leftover spaces of intensive industrial exploitation: ‘dead’ landscapes are understood as the results – and eventual symptoms – of indeterminacy surrounding both the natural state of the site under study (an open-air coal mine), coupled with intensive anthropogenic exploitation of its resources. These dead landscapes dictate the conceptual approach adopted to deal with the territory both as a constructed industrial whole, in addition to many fragmented instances of indeterminacy.

The proposed graduation project takes inspiration from the Borders & Territories conceptual, practical, and theoretical frameworks as a base for research and design. The studio topic “Transient Liquidities along the New Silk Road” is heavily¬¬ in line with the proposed graduation topic, as it investigates conditions of formation of postindustrial landscapes in Turkey, a result of varying demands and rich natural resources along the new silk road. Turkey is then at the forefront of rapid transformations, made possible by its complex infrastructural landscape and abundance of natural resources.