Transmission of affect: a land based Integrated Multi-tropic Aquaculture Farm and Tourism Development

Abstract

By countering typical remediation and breathing new life into a post-industrial site - through the reformation of its socio-economic amenities and marine terrestrial environment, a poetic act of countering a period of abbau, ‘the unbuilding of the world’ has surfaced in the form of an aquacultural and tourism development that embodies the moving 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦-𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 known among indigenous communities and the site. Therefore, the research for the Development leads to ask - how may a strategically embodied architectural approach of affect¹ reconnect the transmission, absorption, and anchoring of the coastal town’s hidden ecological 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦-𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 by leveraging atmospheric configurations, multi-sensory maritime embodiments, and unearthed hidden terrains amidst a post-company showpiece? Locally, there have been past efforts to redress unemployment and rehabilitate the severely disturbed coastline caused by open-cast mining but seldom have been successful in addressing the three interlinked 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦-𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴, and which aptly represent the Nama Khoi Municipality, which translates as putting ‘people first’. The Development, as a response, is informed by both One Health and indigenous ques, both of which emphasise the interlinked 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦-𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 - ecological, animal, and human well-being. The Development therefore seeks to reinforce these principles by taking an interdisciplinary and experiential architectural approach - with the site, building and programme - that promotes biodiversity, ecological conservation, and community participation. Counted as an Operation Phakisa (meaning ‘hurry up’) project, this research provides a hopeful glimpse into how an urgent act of reactivation would positively affect the derelict mining town of Kleinzee and unearth a west coast identity expressed through a set of 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦-𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴.