From many different directions, increased attention has fallen upon dirt as a fundamentally productive material whose potentials are ripe for excavation. If the 20th century was about oil and the 21st about water, the 22nd century will be that of soil. A global land grab has foregrounded soil as a charged political medium through which global power structures are exerted by investors and states across national boundaries. Overburden, a term for excavated earth, is in fact the single largest waste stream by volume on the planet today. The ascendance of landscape practice has increased the agency of soil as a principle actor in shaping the built environment. On average, 3.4 tons of soil erode per person per year at an estimated cost of $70 per person. Estimates predict that available arable soil will reduce by 50% by the year 2050. The convergence of interests around soil suggests that dirt can be a powerful design tool.

During the spring of 2013, I created a dynamic video using content from a friend's thesis project. The work shown is not my own, but the storytelling and video creation using the content and research findings is a result of my efforts.