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06
Desert Oasis
- Typology
- Context
- Location
'As Above So Below' — an underground refuge that keeps an existing structure intact and cuts the new spaces into the earth.
Narrative
By taking what is already there and cutting downward, the building retains its spatial integrity while something new is realised beneath it. The oasis acknowledges four elements: earth, air, water and fire.
The vastness of the Karoo speaks inherently to air, so the plan answers it with sunken wells and high ceilings that reproduce that expansive feeling indoors.
Fire is structural rather than decorative: ashcrete stands in for concrete, with clay, wood ash and stained glass completing the palette.
Key decisions
- A water channel wending through the interior, branching in response to the plan
- Ashcrete in place of concrete, so fire becomes part of the structure
- Clay, wood ash and stained glass as the material palette
- Proportion and geometry as the ordering system
Scope and services
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