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Redefining Industry / Architecture as a constructive extraction

Part 2 Project 2015
Walter Raubenheimer
 University of Pretoria | South Africa
The decommissioning of the famous Cullinan diamond mine will create an industrial ruin, perpetuating ecological degradation and fostering a homogeneous experiential environment within a scarred landscape. The inaccessible ghostlike remnants of mining industry will not only result in a loss of functional, social and economic value but also a loss of authenticity, heritage value and spatial and experiential diversity.

The project questions the current mining rehabilitation strategy by proposing an alternative architectural solution that is resilient, that regenerates the post-industrial mining environment while providing opportunities for new spatial and sensory experiences. An alternative approach to the industrial archetype is proposed by establishing a new experiential interface between the public, productive industry and the industrial heritage. It was discovered that the roots of Vetiver grass, currently used to remediate the kimberlite tailings, can be extracted to produce essential oil as a commodity. An essential oil extraction facility is therefore proposed, providing economic incentive for remediation, while a cider-making facility re-establishes the heritage of brewing, providing social incentive for rehabilitation. The new architecture transforms the current mono-functional industrial archetype into an experiential, regenerative mechanism, which reinserts carbon back into the landscape in the form of resources and nutrients rather than extracting it.
Walter Raubenheimer
Tutor(s)
2015
Urban framework – A Masterplan for the decommissioned Cullinan mine.
Redefining ownership through architecture to create opportunity for ecological, social and cultural upliftment.
Conceptual approach – Architecture as a constructive extraction, drawing from the site to define a new industrial archetype.
Cross section showing architecture as the mediator between the heritage of the built form and the heritage of the landscape.
The porous screen of the essential oil extraction facility is informed by the concept of a diamond sieve, internal processes are selectively revealed towards the public realm.
The roof of the distillation facility slopes down towards the public route, bringing the space down to a human scale, while sloping up to accommodate double volume stills and release steam at the highest point.
The experiential promenade exists as a new living incision within the scarred landscape with a series of submerged gardens as resting spaces along the route.
The new industrial typology functions like a miniature city, creating spaces and transitions which differ in quality and experience while establishing a new experiential interface between the public and production.
A longitudinal section through the cider-making facility showing how the public engages with the production processes and the landscape on different levels.
Detailing of the various components of the new intervention expressing the concepts of extraction and re-insertion.
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