Lauren Kleinhans

This thesis investigates architecture's potential to mediate between consumption patterns and conservation imperatives through the adaptive reuse of the Rhodes Jam Factory at Boschendal Farm in the Western Cape. The research proposes transforming this colonial-era industrial building into a glass recycling facility that converts wine industry waste into soil amendment for endangered fynbos restoration, demonstrating how architectural intervention can address both regional waste management challenges and biodiversity conservation needs simultaneously.

The investigation spans multiple scales, from the global sand crisis threatening construction material supplies to the microscale requirements of endemic plant communities within the Cape Floral Kingdom. Site analysis reveals layered histories of indigenous dispossession, slave labour, and industrial development that inform contemporary intervention strategies addressing inherited spatial inequalities while enabling regenerative environmental practices. The Western Cape generates approximately 77,117 tons of glass waste annually yet achieves only 44.2% recycling rates, while simultaneously requiring innovative soil amendments for ecosystem restoration in one of the world's most threatened biodiversity hotspots.

Through phenomenological analysis of material agency and spatial experience, the research examines how architectural design can make visible the transformation of waste into conservation resources, creating educational environments that demonstrate circular economy principles through direct material engagement. The facility proposes to integrate industrial processing with research laboratories, educational programming, and community workshops within the heritage building's robust concrete and steel framework.

The thesis argues that architecture can transcend its traditional role as shelter provision to become an active instrument of environmental restoration and social repair. By facilitating material transformation from waste to resource while preserving industrial heritage and creating employment opportunities, the project demonstrates how contemporary architectural practice might address the interrelated crises of resource scarcity, waste accumulation, and ecological degradation through thoughtful adaptive reuse and programmatic innovation.