Vivd Latency

Throughout the 19th century environmental determinism shaped global attitudes towards spatial occupation. In a time in which the earth’s hidden secrets were read through the undulation of its surface. Spatial organisation of humankind was largely explored through the cartographic lexicon of geography. Towns and cities were thought to have been swept like sand into vast dunes of urbanity, resting in the cradle of a resource abundant ecology. However the expanding physical imprint of urbanisation saw the proliferation of economic, political and social considerations into a multifaceted definition of spatial dynamism. Yet at some point during this Vidalian reflection the development of geography gave way to geology, and our tools of observation began to trace the unknown.

Jack Isles and Dongsei Kim’s co-authored piece published in the KERB Journal of Landscape Architecture traces the influence of mining ordnance and geological surveyance in the creation of Australia’s contemporary urbanism and emergent cityscapes. The article examines recent urban developments in Australia's Pilbara, and the need to include tools of geological analysis within our lexicon of contemporary design and urbanisation. 

Images: Samples of maps developed for publication charting our technological and sensorial means of engagement with Australian geology and places.

Collaborators

Dongsei Kim
Kerb Journal