Lydia Xynogala, Dark Ecology, is now available from CAUI Books.
From the Preface by Mario Gandelsonas:
"Dark Ecology explores the extremely polluted environment of the Russian city of Magnitogorsk. In contrast to the standard, technocratic management of degraded terrain, left behind by twentieth-century industrialization, Xynogala proposes the exploitation of its architectural potential. More than merely a cleaning operation, approach transforms the post-industrial landscape into flexible ground, responsive to the multiple and sometimes contradictory needs and desires of its twenty-first century inhabitants. The mitigation
of polluted soil is articulated through experimental research into new structural materials, new building typologies and new forms of leisure. By opening up architecture, landscape architecture, and urbanism to the disciplinary concerns of the environmental and social sciences, new and experimental approaches to design and construction emerge. In Dark Ecology, this results not only in the prospective rehabilitation of a highly degraded city but also in unexpected programmatic adjacencies, unforeseen building types, and a much-welcomed revitalization of standard architectural practices."
