Border-Land-Scapes

Beginning at Europe’s eastern edge in Latvia, the book traces how militarization reshapes not only territory but also everyday life, perception, and our relationship to space itself. Once imagined as abstract lines on maps, borders increasingly materialize in the landscape through fences, surveillance systems, watchtowers, barriers, and expanding defense infrastructure. Their presence transforms places, communities, and the meaning of belonging. Rooted in architectural inquiry yet reaching beyond its discipline, this book explores the intersection of conflict, spatial planning, political power, and the built environment. It reflects on how violence and security measures alter cultivated and natural environments alike, revealing landscapes as active participants in geopolitical change rather than passive backdrops. Triggered by the changing realities of Europe following Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and broader shifts in regional security, the book expands the topic to examine wider patterns of defense, segregation, and territorial control. What emerges is both a critical investigation and an invitation: to reconsider the spaces we inhabit, to question how borders are made visible, and to reflect on the landscapes that quietly absorb the consequences of fear, protection, and power. A book about borders ― and the landscapes they leave behind.