Yorkshire Sandstone Retaining Wall
Date: 2024
Material: Yorkshire Sandstone
Location: Farnham, UK
Program: Retaining Wall
Information: designed and built by Laura Stargala
This project consists of a ten meter long dry stone wall. The wall retaines the earth on one side and faces a garden on the other. Yorkshire sandstone was used for the construction of this wall, which is ideal for dry stone walling due to tendency to break easily along layers of sedimentation. The retaining wall is at the height of a bench at one moment, allowing users to sit on the retainign wall. A subtle curvature appears at the end of the wall to one side. The coping stones are placed on the final course to cap off the interior infill of the dry stone wall.
Unfortunately the site had been treated with weed killer, or some other insecticid, causing a lack of life within the soil. Usually one comes across spiders, snails, beetles, mice, and many other little critters while working on dry stone walls, and here there were none. Subtle realizations such as these provide insights into how one can engage with the land to provide a healthy environment for diverse life forms to thrive.

Exposed Bedrock in Eryri National Park, Wales, UK (Photo Credit: Laura Stargala)


Collecting Building Materials (Photo Credit: Laura Stargala)
Rocks in Bucket (Photo Credit: Laura Stargala)

Gathering Siltstone for Repairs (Photo Credit: Laura Stargala)
"Working directly with the land has opened up many doors of dialogue, allowing us to connect with the places and communities who continue to foster site specific construction practices."
Laura Stargala, Mountain Bothy Restoration: Description, Of Here, 2025


Exposed Bedrock in Eryri National Park, Wales, UK (Photo Credit: Laura Stargala)
Exposed Bedrock in Eryri National Park, Wales, UK (Photo Credit: Laura Stargala)
"There is a growing urgency to rethink the role of contemporary architecture - not only as a construction for shelter, but also as a set of values which demonstrate our relationship to other living beings, ecologies and finite resources."
Laura Stargala, Mountain Bothy Restoration: Description, Of Here, 2025

Cae Amos Mountain Refuge in Eryri National Park, Wales, UK (Photo Credit: Laura Stargala)

Stones among the Grasses, Eryri National Park, Wales, UK (Photo Credit: Laura Stargala)