“‘Site’ to this civil engineer means function and beauty. Both matter,” concludes retired Founding Principal Judy Nitsch in her contributed Afterword in Site Matters: Strategies for Uncertainty Through Planning and Design 2nd Edition edited by Andrea Kahn and Carol J. Burns.
The illustrated anthology features essays from industry professionals to explore the possibilities of site engagement, described as:
“The increasingly complex hybridity of constructed environments today demands new tools for thinking about and working with site. Drawing contributions from outside and within the traditional design disciplines, this edition will trace important developments in site thinking with new essays on topics such as climate change, landscape as infrastructure, shifts from global to planetary urbanization debates, and the proliferation of participatory site transformation practices.”
– publisher’s summary via Routledge and CRC Press
This newly released 2nd Edition text builds on previous concepts to address the changes that have taken place since the first edition was published 15 years earlier.
Judy joins a list of contributors with her Afterword titled “What does Site look like to a Civil Engineer working in site development and infrastructure?” In it, Judy shares Nitsch Engineering’s overarching goal of designing a site that not only meets the needs of the development, but also benefits the surrounding community. She challenges civil engineers to be “proactive collaborators” with the project team, and to remember that it’s possible to create a site that is in harmony with nature, rather than one that aims to conquer it.
Get your copy of Site Matters via the publisher’s website.