Contextual Shifts

Contextual Shifts is a design-led research group that unveils a vision of architectures as capable of generating responses for a society in the midst of deep-seated change. The group is composed of four design professionals of the built environment: Bruno Marques (landscape architecture), Carles Martinez-Almoyna (architecture and landscape architecture), Jacqueline McIntosh (architecture and building science) and Philippe Campays (architecture and interior design). The recent creative work explored the paradox of architecture and landscape architecture sitting uncomfortably in the space between science and art. The exhibition ‘A Site to Behold’ brought into question the prevalent single-minded view of ‘dirt’ and the mineral soils and subsurface conditions that make it up. Few know what lies beneath, and those who do generally investigate soils solely for economic reasons. The contribution of soils to place and site-specific identity is lost to both designers and the public as the soils are buried under a flattened urban infrastructure (asphalt and buildings), eradicating the unique shape of our landscapes and the formation of ‘place’. The work explored how an earth-based expression of place and its identity can inform design decisions and develop a distinctive local aesthetic.