Landing: Embodied intra-actions with foreign mountain landscapes

Abstract ID: 3.10001 | Accepted as Poster | Requested as: Poster | TBA | TBA

Renata Berta Saumell

(1) Free University of Bolzano, Universitätsplatz 1 - piazza Università, 1

Categories: No categories defined
Keywords: Embodied landscapes, Material gestures, Design practice of care

Categories: No categories defined
Keywords: Embodied landscapes, Material gestures, Design practice of care

Abstract
The content was (partly) adapted by AI
Download
Download
Content (partly) adapted by AI

This research investigates how embodied intra-actions, material agency, and other-than-human entanglements reshape our understanding of site

engagement in dynamic landscapes. Rooted in architecture, landscape studies, artistic and material research, the study challenges conventional site

analysis methodologies—often extractive and static—by proposing an approach that is performative, relational, and responsive to the temporal and

material flux of the environment. Drawing from feminist, ecological, and indigenous epistemologies, it argues that sites are not passive backdrops but

active participants in design processes.

 

Situating on the shifting ecologies of two mountain areas ( Italian Alps and the Andes), this research develops an interdisciplinary framework that

integrates situated performances, technological mediations, and material experimentation to foster a design practice of care. Mountainous landscapes

undergo continuous transformation—glaciers recede, sediments shift, plant ecologies evolve—yet architectural and design methodologies often fail to

account for these dynamic conditions. By engaging with these sites through performative and material intra-actions, the study proposes new ways of

relating to landscapes that embrace uncertainty, reciprocity, and embodied knowledge.

 

This research contributes to transdisciplinary discussions on design ethics, ecological attunement, and the role of materials in shaping spatial

narratives. It asserts that care in design is not only an ethical imperative but a performative, embodied practice that redefines how we interact and

evolve with rapidly changing environments. Ultimately, it expands discourse on site-specific methodologies, offering new pathways for sustainable,

contextually responsive, and grounded design practices.