"Open Ground" is the 2018 Designer-in-Residence exhibition at the University of Illinois, supported by the Department of Landscape Architecture. 

 

The installation examines geofoam as a contemporary landscape material. It begins as a wall and deconstructs into a landscape over time, providing flexible seating options and interactive play. The installation relies on collective participation to produce various spatial possibilities.

The team was inspired by the ground as a sponge: pieces of foam were shaped, cut, and perforated to mimic drainage paths for water through a cross-section of land. Neon acrylic paint poured through the solid mass traces many possible avenues of liquid, demonstrating that the interaction of ecological materials can be both structured and unpredictable. 

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Photographs: Aneesha Dharwadker