2026 DAVID SKINNER MEMORIAL LECTURE: A Ruderal Practice

Ruderal’s practice is grounded in an expanded notion of ruderal – an ecological term describing disturbance-adapted species and plant communities. Working in the context of Georgia and the near East deepens our engagement with the phenomena of ‘disturbance’ by providing particular opportunities and challenges to working in traditional models of landscape practice.

This presentation will outline the specific constraints and adaptive methods developed by the studio since its establishment in 2018. Two thematic approaches and their practical applications will be explored:

1. “Grafting into Baseline Conditions”: working within the traces of historic spatial regimes (Imperial, Soviet, early Independence)
2. “Landscape Lexicon”: an approach that allows us to methodically reassemble cultural and technical landscape knowledge. “Terms” within the lexicon are applied to sites as a means to enhance spatial, ecological, and cultural organisation.

Sarah Cowles, ALSA, is founder and director of Ruderal LLC. Her inventive approach comes from 20 years of international experience and a localised understanding of place. Recognised as a thought leader in the field and a critical advocate for landscape architecture in Georgia, her projects address geopolitical realities to forge new relationships between ecology and culture.

Cowles brings insight and optimism to the urgencies of climate adaptation, applying expertise at regional, urban, and residential design scales. Notable works include the Arsenal Oasis, and Mtatsminda Afforestation Plan in Georgia, and the Betania Forest Garden.

In 2019, she was named a US Fulbright Specialist in Urban Design and Landscape Architecture. Landscape Architecture Magazine featured Ruderal on the cover of the April 2023 issue, noting that the practice in Black Sea region is “in the thick of a global crossroads’ rebirth.” The European Prize for Public Space, the Landezine International Landscape Award, and the EUMies Prize have all recognised Ruderal’s work.

A compelling public speaker, Cowles lectures and serves on juries across the United States and Europe, addressing potent questions of urban-wild interfaces, forests, and the place of humans in an increasingly uncertain natural world. She exhibited at the Tbilisi Architecture Biennial, the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, and the Center for Land Use Interpretation. Her critical writing appears in many publications, including Landscape Architecture Magazine and Art Papers.

Cowles received a Master of Landscape Architecture from Harvard Graduate School of Design. She has taught at The Ohio State University, the University of Southern California, and the Sam Fox School of Art and Design.

The talk will be followed by refreshments.

This talk is part of the Edinburgh School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (ESALA) 2026 Landscape Events, a series of public events focusing on ways of practising and thinking with landscapes.

Image credit: Ruderal, Arsenal Oasis, model photo, Sandro Saluberidze.

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