Inverse Topography - Ecological Landscape
Restoring mined lands with soil and pioneer plants
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Backgrounds
China’s deepest open-pit coal mine
Active 1901–2019, now abandoned
Fushun Mine, Liaoning
2.2 km × 6.6 km × 400 m
1901
•
1933
•
2019
•
2024
•
1901 • 1933 • 2019 • 2024 •
Design Development
Mine Pit = Inverted Mountain?
The pit reveals geological and ecological layers like a mountain does, but in reverse.
Conceptual Approach
Step 1: Soil System Reconstruction
Challenge Impractical to simply add soil to such a vast pit
Solution Create gully systems within the pit by further excavation
Function Gullies act like veins, guiding and storing soil as it moves down the slopes
Step 2: Vegetation Introduction
Selection Choose pioneer species and cold-resistant plants
Planting strategy Soil introduced at the top flows downward, vegetation follows and spreads
Root systems Stabilize soil, prevent landslides and erosion
Step 3: Master Plan
