Abstract
The paper draws on recent salvage archaeological excavations in Melbourne, Australia that prompt questions on architectural concerns of ‘site’ in contemporary architectural discourse. For design practitioners, site is usually communicated in direct and straightforward ways, with some practical understanding of the physical forces that form the current site, but little of influencing political or cultural elements. This is particularly problematic in settler-colonial cities such as Melbourne which are built out of complex and contested environments. The urban archaeological excavation is therefore seen as a metaphorical ‘autopsy,’ a brief moment of pause when the site’s history and composition can be publicly examined and challenged. Crucially, the act exposes the significant and potent presence of ground and dirt as actants in the city. This paper examines archaeological and architectural texts and practices to explore the added meaning that a refocusing on dirt and ground as material and medium can add to the architectural reading and interpretation of site in the settler‑colonial city.
Highlights
The paper draws on recent salvage archaeological excavations in Melbourne, Australia that prompt questions on architectural concerns of ‘site’ in contemporary architectural discourse
A series of infrastructural projects led to the falls being dynamited, mingling the different waters, and allowing the Cycles of city excavation and redistribution of material continue, meaning that the existing condition is a strange mix of anthropogenic dirt and rubble and that the contemporary city sits on a platform of disturbed and unnatural ground.[17]
As the city’s pavements are peeled back, the exposed dirt becomes a key point of interest, and the archaeological excavation itself becomes performative
Summary
The paper draws on recent salvage archaeological excavations in Melbourne, Australia that prompt questions on architectural concerns of ‘site’ in contemporary architectural discourse. While the architectural drawing reflects a simplification of the physically and conceptually complex space our buildings occupy, archaeological methods and their resulting excavations can better tell us about site, a critical area of interest in areas of architecture, as well as landscape and urban design and provide a sense of vitality to the city’s sub-surface.
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