Verena Morkos

Post-apartheid South Africa bears the embedded and residual pain of an oppressive regime within its scarred landscape. Hidden amongst an overgrown landscape, dilapidated walls protrude, presencing forgotten narratives. Once a miners’ compound, these material fragments hold traces of the past and serve as archives of erased memories and bodies. The compound was a machine of oppression and control. The ruins are not seen as static remnants of the past but as a means to understand the past lived experiences of the workers. In the present-day context, the site is central to industrial factories, with workers facing challenges such as inadequate amenities, and the need for representation. This project aims to transform the site’s history into a space that stimulates dialogue between the past and present-day workers’ counter-narratives. The architectural intervention is designed to give control back to the worker, opposing the past conditions of oppression and lack of expression.