Abstract:
Current toxic interactions between the systems of man,
nature and machine in the diamond mining town of
Cullinan are volatile and cannot be sustained. When the
mine and the main economic system regress, how can the
remaining dependent cultural and biophysical systems be
sustained and what can Cullinan become after the demise
of the machine? Impending deindustrialisation could
mean that Cullinan will be silenced and its associated
meaning and memory lost.
The architecture of the Age of the Machine represents
contemporary interactions between the biotic and
bionic where industrial buildings, and the introverted
town, reflect the dominance of the machine over nature.
The objective of this dissertation is to set a precedent for
place-responsive regenerative architecture within
a post-mining context that is inspired by local nature
and culture. An architecture that expresses a new
co-evolving mutualistic relationship between the existing
town and landscape (cultural and natural systems) will be
considered.
Programme: A local food hub
The intention of this dissertation is to address the future shift
of human communities and economic activities back to the
alignment and synergy with life processes. A bionic evolution
from the Age of the Machine, to the Age of Life is
explored.
