David Godshall is co-founder of the Californian landscape company Terremoto. The company’s statement of intent includes the paragraph: ‘Terremoto believes in the ebullient exploration of form and operates under total freedom from historical shape-giving systems and modes of thought. We gnaw on the bones of Modern and Postmodern landscapes alike and consider new, inverted futures for the Baroque and the Picturesque. We pillage the tattered fuselage of worlds East and West. We have no particular identifiable style, because beauty is diverse, and because “having a particular style” sounds very boring.’
David is an ecological anarchist who seeks both to critique (or ‘undermine’) the profession of landscape architecture, while also reforming it through kindness and good example. ‘Terremoto finds itself making gardens and landscapes in interesting times,’ he says. ‘We exist in a tornado of crises: environmental, social, political and technological, to name a few. Our office has begun asking ourselves simple but existential questions, like: ’Can we make a garden that is equally respectful and kind to insects, birds, humans and the people who make it?’ Through these internal philosophical provocations, we are coming to redefine our relationships to the tools with which we create (land, labor, plants and materials).’
