Celebrating Biological Activity and the Resilience of the Ground
At Luxembourg’s international urban garden exhibition LUGA, Atelier Faber presents Solum, an installation named after the Latin word for the biologically active layer of soil. Reflecting this meaning, the project explores ecological cycles, soil regeneration, and water circulation while emphasizing the importance of healthy soil environments.
Installed on the site of an old well in Luxembourg City, the work reveals the gradual regeneration of land through biological activity and focuses on restoring the soil’s permeability, a key condition for responding to droughts and floods. The installation consists of reed bands symbolizing wetlands, layered over sandstone structures. The sandstone references the geological layers that form Luxembourg’s largest aquifer, where groundwater circulates beneath the surface. Together, the reeds and stone evoke a primordial landscape and foreground the site’s environmental context.
The project is rooted in the site’s abundant self-seeded vegetation and its ecological and aesthetic functions. Left undisturbed for years, the plants developed without irrigation or maintenance, forming a plant community highly adapted to the local soil and climate. The landscape strategy strengthens existing vegetation while responding to varying ground conditions. Nitrogen-rich soils are planted with fast-adapting annual and perennial species commonly found in disturbed environments, while drier areas are seeded with herbaceous plants such as grasses and wildflowers to establish ecologically responsive habitats.
A curved timber structure clad in reed mats rests on a sandstone plinth made from local stone. The plinth both supports the structure and forms an entry point into the installation. Inside, visitors encounter views of exposed ground and surrounding vegetation through narrow openings. The organic form, shaped by the distribution and growth patterns of nearby plant life, contrasts with the geometric defensive structures built around the former northern gate of Luxembourg’s historic fortifications, highlighting the relationship between natural processes and constructed forms.
Project: Solum / Location: Luxembourg city, Luxembourg / Architect: Atelier Faber / Project team: Luca Antognoli, Gabriel Pontoizeau / Contractor: Vereal / Use: pavilion / Completion: 2025.5 / Photograph: ©LUGA (courtesy of the architect); ©Giaime Meloni (courtesy of the architect)
