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BAS(Hons) Part I

'sCape Design Research Project: Landscape Rejuvenation Machines

University of Cape Town 2017

LANDSCAPE REJUVENATION MACHINES

Project Overview

These seed dispersion totems are designed to weather away over time and utilize the destructive force of wild fires to rejuvenate the landscape. A strategy that rescripts destructive forces into regenerative forces that connect architecture, design, technology and art to better serve society in anticipating the future, today.

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Conceptual Installation exploring the hidden qualities of site.

Site of Inquiry

Table Mountain National Park, Cape Town, South Africa.

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View of Cape Town City Bowl, Devil's Peak + Table Mountain National Park

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Protea Burn Study

A study of how fire & smoke form an integral part in the germination of fynbos seeds. The act of burning is vital in the life cycle of the landscape

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Initial Site Sketches

The Landscape's Cyclical Nature

Understanding Table Mountain National Park's Context through Time

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28.3. The Burnt Landscape.jpg
28.4. Seed Bank.jpg
28.5. The Recovery.jpg
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1. The Landscape

2. The Spectacle

3. The Burnt Landscape

6. New Life

5. The Recovery

4. Seed Banks

A series of experiments in discovering a new material that has structural integrity but still able to sustain life

Materiality Research

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Threshold Analysis

Investigation between the City (Cape Town) + Nature (Table Mountain National Park): Looking at possible connections from the city to the wilderness

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Plan Development Sketches

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Plan: Connecting Canopy Walkway from the City to Table Mountain National Park

Section

Burning Fynbos Totems

Seed dispersion towers designed to weather away with time.

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As the soil erodes, a timber structure is exposed. This structure is designed to burn and smoke fynbos (indigenous) seeds which are then dispersed into the landscape through the wind. 

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A concrete base wall becomes a canvas that bear the markings of the weathering processes and becomes an exhibition of nature's impact on the struggle. This provides a means of interactions with society and alters the perceptions of fire within the Cape Town community.

The timber structure is designed to utilize joints that are not composed with any steel bolts this is done to avoid leaving any remnants that will harm the landscape as the structure weathers away.

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© 2023 by Daniel Xu

Cape Town, South Africa.

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