Open cut futures

RESEARCH BACKGROUND The remote landscape of Western Australia is littered with massive open cut mines. At 8km in diameter and over 500m deep, these manmade gorges are of an incredible scale. Martyn Hook (IPH) selected the site of Tom Price to speculate on the future of an open cut mining town 1500km northeast of Perth. The ore-body will be exhausted within the next decade and the rehabilitation of the site will begin. RESEARCH CONTRIBUTION Working with Rio Tinto, Hook proposed an Open Cut Museum as a facility to provide a tourist focal point that would maintain the viability of the town and community when the mine is eventually closed. This project continues IPH's research into speculative futures for massive mining infrastructure and the ecological impact they have on the WA landscape and community. RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE The project was exhibited in Abundant: Australian Pavilion at the 2008 Venice Architecture Biennale. It was then selected for exhibition at the Sydney Festival 2009, and exhibited in Melbourne at the State of Design Festival 2009 and the 2009 Design Singapore Festival.