Sh*tscapes

In the age of glossy architecture visualisations and slick photography, we feel that the web and print media are saturated with the idealised, photoshopped, bird’s eye view images of the projects being mummified in their ideal, untouched, unused state. Rarely do we get to see a closeup image, a detail of an interface or a landscape project that has been in use after five or even ten years.

Instagram is partly responsible for creating a generation of designers obsessed with creating perfect images. Naturally, we all want to promote our work and share flawless images with the world. The reality, however, is seldom immaculate. Imperfections and failures should be exposed and studied. Arguably we can learn as much from bad examples as we do from shining precedents.

Every design or technical publication on landscape architecture tries to teach us how to do things based on best practices and examples. To counterbalance this status quo, we believe it is time to review and scrutinise our sh*tscapes. 

We created a compendium of failures, an ongoing ruthless investigation of the mistakes made during the design, construction and maintenance of our public spaces. Our research is focused on providing a simple and practical guide for the new generations of landscape architects and urban designers.

Sh*tscapes does not focus on specific projects, locations, or designers but looks at problems in isolation. We analyse, reflect and provide practical solutions and options for designers to consider when encountering similar constraints.