Ever since the discovery of the cave, humans have made use of nature's geological formations. Only recently, however, have developments in structural engineering made it possible to engage the earth's surface as a building element in its own right.
With an increasing awareness of our planet's limited natural resources, the most acclaimed architectural practices from around the world are building into the earth and merging man-made forms with the contours of the land. The results are at once preternatural and breathtaking. From Zaha Hadid's Tram Terminal in France to Snøhetta's Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Egypt, from Future System's hill-burrowing house in Wales to Antoine Predock's Spencer Theater in the United States, over fifty projects displayed here expose the breadth and depth of this new direction in architecture.
Aaron Betsky first considers our historical preoccupation with communing with the land through building, then four central chapters - 'Engineered Utopias', 'Caves and Caverns', 'Unfolding the Land' and 'A New Nature' - explore the ways in which 'geotecture' responds to, becomes a part of and yet remains distinctive within our natural landscape.
Landscrapers reveals some of the most important, influential and appealing building forms for today and the future
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