RA008 Chiatura focused on the city and region of Chiatura in the Imereti province of the Republic of Georgia. Chiatura is a working landscape, dominated by mining operations and facilities. In this month-long course, participants were introduced to techniques of landscape research, analysis, interpretation, and design through intensive site exploration and...

RA007 SCOUR addressed the landscape of the Johnson’s Shut Ins State park after a pumped storage reservoir failed, scouring the forested mountain down to bedrock. Participants proposed ecological, hydrological, mineral and architectural interventions in this “post-event” landscape at a range of spatial and temporal scales, engaged in critical discussions on...

RA006 ELEGANTLY WASTED tasked participants with creating proposals to retrofit the Hoosic river from a pragmatic concrete structure to greenway with new social, ecological and material possibilities. Analytical drawings, a field guide, and design proposals were featured in Bureau for Open Culture’s exhibition entitled I Am Searching for Field Character at MASSMoCA in July...

RA005 ARMATURES & PROCESS explored techniques of modeling the dynamic landscape processes at play in at an abandoned warf site south of downtown Baton Rogue, Louisiana. In this four-day workshop, participants studied the technical, theoretical and aesthetic aspects of ecological disturbance processes using physical modeling techniques. They speculated on ways in...

RA004 PARALLEL RUDERALS probed the role of public art commissions in urban redevelopment initiatives, in particular, the the neighborhood of Hackney Wick in London which adjoins the site of the 2012 Olympic games. Participants prepared a proposal for public art commission issued by the London Thames Gateway Commission that included a series of...

RA003 SALT MOUNTAIN explored a critical approach ecological disturbance as framework for imagining futures for abandoned industrial, mining, and transportation sites in the Midwestern United States. The notion of critical disturbance opposes dominant paradigms of ecosystem restoration of disturbed sites in favor of the cultivation of places of rarity. The former railyard was seen...

RA002 FENCE DITCH REPEAT unpacked the landscape and cultural geography of the US – Mexico Borderlands. Participants collaborated in creating a series of maps and diagrams illustrating the constructed and ecological conditions of the borderlands, and designed, fabricated and installed a large-scale gallery installation with Tom Leader Studio at the Rubin...

Ruderal Academy 001 HALOPHILIA centered on research and development of proposals for 16,000 acres of salt evaporator ponds that form the edges of the southern San Francisco Bay. Participants investigated how a landscape of closure could unfold into a mosaic of post-industrial ecosystems and public spaces between the urban edges and open...