Weaving temporal threads: a wool processing facility at Houtkraal Railway Station in the Karoo, South Africa

Abstract

Many unused and abandoned railway stations are scattered throughout the Karoo, the site of Houtkraal Railway Station being one of them. The remaining buildings verge on ruin, and slow and deliberate decay has set in, mediating between present, future and past. The main question is: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗽 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝘆𝘀𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝘄𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗸𝗿𝗮𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗞𝗮𝗿𝗼𝗼 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮? Though the wool industry in South Africa is largely unstable due to outbreaks of cattle diseases, which limits the export of wool to other countries, the local processing of wool has yet to be established. Much research has been done on wool processing and its social, economic and environmental impact, though past research and precedent studies fail to address the possible architecture that may accommodate and balance both the hand-driven processes of wool processing and the industrial nature of a railway line in South Africa. Furthermore, the interpretation of patinas in architecture relies heavily on time, temporality and ruin theories. Along with the theory, investigations are done regarding materiality and promenades, which will attempt to make sense of the experience of passing time. The successful and realistic design and development of a wool-processing facility in the Karoo, next to a railway, may revitalise the railway and the local economy and may change onlookers’ perspectives on buildings laid waste over time.