Yering / Yarra Glen by TCL
Core samples (2030–2070)
Representing geological samples of soil taken from the Birrarung’s floodplains to the centre of Yarra Glen/Yering from 2030 to 2070, this series of models alludes to information about the river that can be understood by looking beneath its surface. The soil composition in the samples, and the objects found in them, trace environmental events such as fire, flood and the potential changes to land uses and attitudes required to achieve a healthy, transformed Birrarung by 2070.
Project Statement
TLooking beneath the surface of the Birrarung’s lands and waters, this project focuses on a stretch of river in Yering and Yarra Glen. The design speculates on the results that will be uncovered through soil sampling of the area’s subterranean conditions over the next fifty years. Unlike parts of the river downstream, the impacts and remedies of infrastructure are not immediately apparent here. There are no concrete drains to uncover, no apartment buildings to ‘green’ and no industrial areas to ‘re-wild’.
Instead, the health of the river is best understood through observation and analysis that challenges current understandings of what a healthy river looks like, rather than remnant pockets of habitat and segments of flowing river.
It is proposed that by 2070 the measures used to assess the health of the Birrarung extends from water to land and sky, and includes the non-human species whose existence forms part of the Birrarung and its ecosystem.
The speculative core samples and media clippings depict a resilient future. Each soil profile tells a reassuring story, that despite the unstable climatic conditions we may face in the future, the river and its lands can be healed and endure. The health of the river is measured by environmental complexity beyond our vision, beneath its surface.
Timeline
A collection of speculative media articles from 2030–70 communicating the social, economic and environmental moments and movements reflected in the speculative geological core samples.
About TCL
Over the past thirty years, TCL has delivered projects across a variety of public and private settings, from urban waterfronts to desert walking trails. The studio works nationally and internationally, undertaking detailed explorations into context, site and community, with a focus on the poetic expression of landscape. Through collaborative dialogue with clients, communities, academics and colleagues, TCL has developed a distinctive approach to landscape and urban design.