The great history of mining in Johannesburg consists of many political, social, and spatial issues that shaped the city to its current form. The exploration of our current-day metropolitan condition as a system of systems, deals with the crust of the Earth as a primary carrying capacitor of human activities, from the extraction of resources deep within the ground, to agricultural operations that barely scratch the surface.

The Agrarian Rehabilitation Center of CArletonville DIstrict Area is located next to one of Blyvooruitzicht’s gold mines in the area of Carletonville. The establishment of Blyvooruitzicht in the area resulted in the formation of a company town for the accommodations of the workers. The termination of the mine’s activities in 1964 meant the termination of the whole city whose ruins are still visible. 

A.R.C.CA.DI.A will aim to regenerate the area’s mine tailings with a master plan of steps that will clean and transform the tailings into active agricultural fields. The main key is the synergy of all the agrarian and laboratory activities with the inmates of the penitentiary centers as a system of social reintegration for both the environment and the people.

Mentors: Filip Geerts, Sanne van den Breemer, Ilmar Hurkxkens