Architect and Builder Magazine South Africa May/June 2015 | Page 73

MARIUS DU PLESSIS
UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE

A Journey from the Centre of the Earth’
which is a National Geothermal Research and
Educational Centre, Village Main, Johannesburg
This thesis aims to answer the following question: “How can
development be seen as true progress if something is damaged in the
process?” By definition conservation implies preserving something for
the future.
Du Plessis says, “Geothermal energy can contribute by protecting
our environment from drastic changes in order to save the depleting
resources for our future generations. Geothermal energy is thermal
energy generated and stored in the earth. The proposed research and
educational centre will become a comment on alternative sustainable
energy sources. Sustainability is a journey and a process that cannot be
achieved within a short period of time. It is a way of life, a way of being
and a way of constantly becoming – a path of continual improvement.”
Du Plessis explores the potential of the geothermal energy to be
extracted from an abandoned Witwatersrand mine and to discover a
path that leads to the fulfilment of a unique situation – to be respectful
of the building site, harmonious with the natural environment, and
responsive and sensitive to the program in such a way that the design
turns out to be a powerful agent for change.

Student Awards

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