Trace Of Land

Trace Of Land
© ELSE

TRACE OF LAND

Else

ARCHITECTS
Else

LEAD ARCHITECT
Zhifei Xu, Zimo Zhang

CONSTRUCTION TEAM
Zhifei Xu, Zimo Zhang, Qiannan Ruan

CLIENTS
Smach

PHOTOGRAPHS
Gustav Willeit, Else, Elisa Cappellari

AREA
100 M²

YEAR
2025

LOCATION
Rocca Pietore, Italy

CATEGORY
Installations & Structures

English description provided by the architects.

Trace Of Land
© ELSE
Trace Of Land
© ELSE

Selected as part of SMACH 2025, the international open-air art biennale in the Italian Dolomites, the installation Trace of Land, designed by ELSE, imagine a large, round hay bale traversing the slopes of Armentara, climbing, descending, leaping, and leaving a trail of dry grass behind.

This poetic vision materializes in the landscape as a meandering canopy that follows the terrain, inviting reflection on labor, landscape, and renewal.

Trace Of Land
© ELSE
Trace Of Land
© Gustav Willeit

In the alpine pastures of Val Badia, a familiar yet transformed landscape unfolds—a continuous, meandering path of unfurled hay bales across the undulating terrain.

From a distance, this straw path resonates with the mountain trails of the Dolomites, while the rising and falling geometry echoes the ridgelines of the surrounding peaks.

Trace Of Land
© ELSE
Trace Of Land
© ELSE

Removed from its functional context, the hay bale becomes a sculptural intervention—once a practical product of labor, it is now a material expression of the relationship between labor, tools, and nature.

Often seen as picturesque remnants of agrarian life, hay bales are in fact products of industrialized processes—bundled, transported, and stored with mechanical precision.

Trace Of Land
© Gustav Willeit
Trace Of Land
© ELSE

Like this year's SMACH theme, la cu (the Ladin word for whetstone, a tool that sharpens harvesting blades), hay bales embody the reciprocal relationship between human effort and the land.

Freed from their compressed form, they unfurl to trace the contours of the meadow.

At times they lie directly on the ground, at other moments they rise lightly to create shaded passages—the undulating geometry echoes the contours of the Dolomite mountains, blurring the boundary between the artificial and the natural.

Trace Of Land
© Elisa Cappellari
Trace Of Land
© Elisa Cappellari

From a poetic vision, the installation transforms into landscape architecture, dialoguing with the nearby "tablà", the wooden barns typical of the Ladin valleys.

The construction remains minimal and adaptable: vertical rebars are driven into the ground and tied together with horizontal steel rods to form a lightweight frame.

A surface of wire mesh supports the unfurled hay, which is bound in place with grass ropes.

This simple system ensures a minimal footprint, allowing the canopy to adjust to different terrains and lengths while integrating seamlessly into the pasture.

Trace Of Land
© ELSE
Trace Of Land
© ELSE

Up close, the hay reveals a tactile texture—fibers layered and porous, filtering light through the canopy to create a presence that feels at once rough and delicate.

Visitors are invited to walk along and beneath the canopy, moving with the contours of the pasture, to gather, rest, and engage with the space.

Rectangular hay bales provide seating, reinforcing the dialogue between function and abstraction.

Over time, as the hay decays, it returns to the earth, completing a cycle of use and renewal.

Trace Of Land
© ELSE


Trace Of Land
© ELSE
Trace Of Land