The legibility or concealment of made ground

Several considerations for addressing designed landscapes of discarded fill from a design perspective are presented here, including the relationships between materials and meanings, openness and closeness: the transition from disordered fill to closed forms. Foremost, the legibility and concealment of the constructed nature of these landscapes are presented as categories of analysis from a theory perspective. Making the constructedness of designed landscapes of discarded fill legible is proposed here as a way to communicate their essence and stimulate awareness. Concealment is mainly addressed as the implementation of natural-looking designed landscapes or camouflaged interventions with the surroundings. Restoration attitudes and implementation of pastoral landscapes belong to similar approaches, which tend to concealment. Finally, several case studies involving different types of discarded fill will be analyzed through the lens of legibility and grouped by design strategies: from projects that didactically display the artifice involved, to subtler designs that are open to discovery by the public. These case studies constitute a useful reference for designers in terms of topographical design with large amounts of discarded fill and reflections on legibility.