Book Club: Dig It! Building bound to the ground - building culture on the surface of the earth

Our book tip of the month digs deep into building culture - on the trail of architecture and its roots in the surface of the earth.

Book Club: Dig it! Building Bound to the Ground - Bjarne Mastenbroek
Source & Copyright by TASCHEN

Author: Vivien Vollmer

Soil and construction: the relationship between the surface of the earth and architecture

The earth's surface has served as the basis of building culture for centuries. However, it is often not actively integrated into architecture, especially in the western world. But time and again, people in different regions prove that a common space can be cultivated with nature. For protection, rituals, religion or for ecological reasons. The Dig It! Compendium sums up this kind of entanglement. on almost 1400 pages and tries to harmonize the surface of the earth with the architecture.

The architect and author Bjarne Mastenbroek and his architecture office SeARCH have been dealing with the special relationship between architecture and the environment for years. In order to sharpen the view of co-existence, it is important for them to understand structures and buildings as part of the landscape. As a result, they fit into their natural environment without being dominant or destructive.

Source & Copyright by Taschen

With Dig It! Discover earth-bound architecture

The team went for Dig It! on a journey of discovery of building culture around the globe. Starting from the beginnings of antiquity up to the sustainable concepts of the present, the book shows the historical and social background and thus illustrates the challenges of the future. The six chapters make it clear in what variety the earth's surface can serve architecture:

  • Bury (bury)
  • Embed
  • Absorb
  • Spiral
  • Carve
  • Mimic (imitation)

Dig It! includes numerous essays, expressive pictures by photographer Iwan Baan, over 500 analytical drawings from the SeARCH office as well as historical examples, graphics and floor plans. The work leads the reader to buried villages in China, over rock-hewn churches in Ethiopia, to the cliffs of Capri and finally to mansions in metropolises like Paris.

Source & Copyright by Taschen

The surface of the earth is our home

The surface of the earth already provided the foundation for the first buildings of prehistoric men. The reason has therefore been part of our home for thousands of years. It is all the more important that architecture does not compete with nature, but that it finds sustainable building solutions. For this reason, Dig It! not on a single architectural style, but holistically on the entirety of the building culture and its relationship to nature.

Source & Copyright by Taschen

About the author:

The Dutch architect Bjarne Mastenbroek merges his buildings into the natural scenery. With his architecture office SeARCH, founded in 2002, he deals with the ecological and social task of architecture. In doing so, he is increasingly leading the way towards a site-specific and more sustainable type of construction.

About the photographer:

Iwan Baan initially gained experience as a documentary photographer after studying photography in The Hague, before focusing on people in interaction with their built environment. This made him famous by sharing his photos of informal settlements like the Torre David in Caracas with the world. His work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, the Architectural Association in London, and the AIA New York Center.

This book was published by TASCHEN VERLAG and is here .

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