KAROO WILDERNESS CENTER

We undertook a thorough investigation into the origins and character of the Karoo landscape; the tectonic events that produced the site’s specific topography; trajectories of water runoff; wind movement; soil composition; and effects of plant and animal species on the landscape. Fundamental to our architectural response is the premise that human species are an inherent part of the conditions that comprise and affect the landscape; recent generations living in the area amplified the impact of human habitation through vernacular building practices, overgrazing, water-over-manipulation, and erosion. Our work seeks to restore the fundamental value and beauty of the landscape by making evident the national processes of the Karoo and establishing a new precedent for building within an ecosystem defined by dynamic flux.