Date: 2024

Material: Oolite Limestone

Location: Pinecrest, Florida, US

Program: Garden

Information: A landscape project designed by Laura Stargala

Status: Built

​​This project uses locally sourced oolite limestone to create a new landscape within a garden in Pinecrest, Florida. This terrain is known for the geological formation of limestone, characterised by the fossilised marine life, still visible to the human eye 200 million years after. Laura also visited historic limestone quarries in the area, such as the Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park and the Venetian Pools in Coral Gables, in order to understand the peninsula's history of limestone extraction. She also visited the stone supplier and discussed their methods of quarrying. These involve digging pits, which are then filled before the land is used for new housing developments.

 

The new space includes a plaza for gathering and paths leading to main auxiliary roads. Native plant species, such as seagrape tree (Coccoloba uvifera), live oak (Quercus Virginiana), and firebush (Hamelia patens) grow in the garden. A bench and water collection bath, both made of limestone, have also been designed for the project.

 

The project involved ongoing research on the transformation of land in the southern peninsula of Florida, which has experienced rapid urban development within the last century. This project would like to acknowledge that the land of Pinecrest was once the home to the Seminole people.