About All Projects
TERRA FIRMA: NEW GROUNDS 
Installation
Ithaca, New York
Fall 2024
Advised by Marta H. Wisniewska 
Sponsored by Cornell CCA 
Partner project with Maxwell Rodencal & Jesus Mayen
Special thanks to: 
David Cutter, James Strait,
David P. Orr, Jonathan Matthew Russell-Anelli,
Les Sills, and Cornell Grounds Team








Terra Firma: NewGrounds is an installation of a 9-square grid of rammed earth columns, located on Cornell campus.  Each column has a slightly different material composition of aggregate (stone / gravel) and lime (naturally occurring alternative to cement) which depends on its location within the matrix. The purpose of this matrix is to celebrate the structural and aesthetic qualities of rammed-earth constructions with varying compositions. As they accept the elements, each monolithic cylinder will texture differently as engineered per the various compositions of soil.

The concept behind the 9 cylinders comes from the method of testing the compressive ability of materials within structural engineering laboratories. This process is crucial in learning
about and regulating new and existing materials for structures. The matrix of cylinders in the art installation represents the material development that happens throughout the testing of
cylinders in laboratories with different compositions in order to optimize ratios for structural performance. 

Rammed earth is prime to be used right here in the Finger Lakes Region. The geologic and specifically glacial histories of the Finger Lakes Region have left behind the correct composition of soil for this type of construction, but this knowledge is not at all known. Moraines from the glaciers 10,000 years ago have left soil rich in clay, sand, and aggregate.