- The Dome of Plants is expected to "revamp the largely stagnant and grey" Luthuli Plaza in the Cape Town foreshore.
- The design use purified urine as a source of water.
- The project is set to be completed by February 2019, subject to approval by the City of Cape Town.
Purified urine from bureaucrats working in the Cape Town Civic centre is set to water a new dome on Cape Town's iconic Luthuli Plaza next to the Artscape Theatre.
Announced at Design Indaba 2018, the Dome of Plants was designed Dutch-based LOLA Architects to "revamp the largely stagnant and grey" plaza.
It is expected to be completed by February 2019 - in time for the next Design Indaba - subject to approval from the City.
LOLA's Peter Veenstra, a landscape architect, was tasked by Design Indaba founder Ravi Naidoo to develop a proposal to transform the elevated plaza.
His response was the green dome which will "offer an inviting garden-like space for urban encounters".
Given that Cape Town is in the midst of a severe water crisis, the design is "water neutral".
Speaking to Dezeen following the announcement, Veenstra said he approached a group of Belgian scientists who helped design a system that would "re-use pee from the civil servants" by filtering the urine to help it support plant life.
He said the dome will mostly be constructed from biological materials such as bamboo, and will feature indigenous fynbos plants like Spekboom which is known for its outstanding ability to absorb carbon dioxide.
"[It will] offer space for discussions, events, workshops, exhibitions, meetings, lunch and a quick coffee outside the big institutions, accessible for everyone," LOLA said in a statement.
"It is an attractive third place, and can become a hotspot in the cultural life of Cape Town."
Luthuli Plaza was constructed to connect the transport hub where people catch taxis, trains and buses to the Artscape precinct. It is named after chief Albert Luthuli who won the Nobel Peace Prize for opposing minority white rule in South Africa and leading a non-violent movement against apartheid.
Receive a single WhatsApp message every morning with all our latest news. Sign up here.
See also:
- An OUTsurance founder just landed a R350 million payday – but he's not shopping for private islands just quite yet
- Woolworths confirms its beloved salami sticks were made in the Listeriosis-implicated factory
- Nescafé, Ricoffy and Frisco are at war – which means cheaper prices for instant coffee drinkers
- Black Panther just made box office history. Not bad for a movie shot in the Free State
- The Galaxy S9 versus the Galaxy S8 — it isn't worth the upgrade unless you zoom a lot
- The for-profit side of Blue Bulls rugby is sucking its amateur club dry
- Nhlanhla Nene personally stepped in to stop the ANC from debating Reserve Bank nationalisation in Parliament – to the party's considerable embarrassment
- This is what your smartphone is doing to your brain – and it isn't good
- Rolls-Royce revealed new bespoke designs for its iconic limo and convertible — and they look incredible
- Sun International fought tooth and nail to build a 'sure thing' mega-casino in Menlyn, Pretoria. Now it is losing money on the deal.
- South Africans will be able to shout at Steinhoff directors from Cape Town in April – but won’t be able to directly vote at its AGM
- Horse meat imports into SA have suddenly jumped – and we don’t know where most of it went
- Caltex will soon disappear as Sinopec comes to town
- 7 of SA's most exclusive country clubs, where membership can cost up to R1 million
- Step by step: This is how SA scientists cracked the secret 'language' of listeria
- Christo Wiese drops off Forbes rich-list amid Steinhoff scandal – after losing R50 billion of his fortuneR260 million was spent to turn Cape Town into an ancient city for BBC's most expensive TV series ever
- How to find a job on Google, now in South Africa
