Landscape architect Paula Meijerink is calling on designers to rethink asphalt, and she's taking her efforts to the streets.
"'It's one of the most liberating materials of the 20th century, increasing our mobility, allowing us to travel,' Meijerink maintains, citing its cheapness, sustainability, and malleability. 'It's the real public landscape, at the crux of what we're thinking about in terms of designing our open space, and we have to rethink the role asphalt plays in our lives.'"
"It's also sticky, waterproof, and 100 percent recyclable, a natural component of crude oil. Yet its very ubiquity is part of what's given asphalt such a bad reputation, Meijerink says, adding that it is "being suffocated by its own success." The goal of her new project is to generate ideas for reimagining existing asphalt areas as well as more creatively and consciously integrating asphalt into new landscaping."
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