Terras/Terrace (Dieren), IJsselbiënnale, the Netherlands

temporary site-specific work
on view 21 june till 14 september 2025

‘Terras/Terrace (Dieren)’ is a path that leads you down into the earth, with terraces where you can sit. The forms and lines refer to the landscape, where traces of humans and animals branch and intersect. The intervention takes place on a slope, at the end of a road that currently leads nowhere. In the 16th century, however, this path continued straight ahead and was part of a formal design — a network of straight lines radiating from a central axis on the Carolinaberg. The estate of Hof te Dieren still contains geometric layouts, rows of trees, and sightlines that cut through the landscape, making the human presence visibly felt. At the location of ‘Terras/Terrace (Dieren)’, this pattern of straight lines was interrupted more recently by the construction of a highway. ‘Terras/Terrace (Dieren)’ also consists of a straight path with a central axis, but its extensions are irregular rather than linear. They refer to the unraveling of the estate’s original design, as well as to natural forms visible in the sandy plains of the nearby Veluwe. The terraces were constructed by pouring eco-concrete into very thin, deep trenches. The earth on site served as the formwork, so that the work emerged step by step from the ground itself. This process helped determine the logic of the terraced form as it adapted to the sloping terrain, while it also makes the intact soil visible. The soil at Hof te Dieren consists of layers of clay and sand. Local clay was used to wrap and bake food in the central, lowest step of ‘Terras/Terrace (Dieren)’, which functions as a fire pit. This culinary performance was carried out by Asako Iwama.