Justine Le Pere

The Harmony Gold Mines in Doornfontein, South Africa, houses a gold mine and its tailings dams, which contribute to acid rain in the summer months, negatively impacting the region's deteriorating infrastructure.
This facility’s innovative approach seeks to address the environmental and water challenges in the region while fostering community engagement and sustainability. It features a farming portion that utilizes water from the dams for irrigation, providing an opportunity for community members to learn sustainable farming methods. Water from the tailings dams is pumped to the facility, where it undergoes a treatment process involving spirulina algae to remove toxins, making it suitable for farming and potable use.
Moreover, the facility not only incorporates algae in its design influence, but also in algae façade panels for shading and a biofuel facility. After treating the water, the algae is fermented and used as biofuel to power the facility, creating a self-sustaining circular economy.