Mining Sand | Claiming Land
Envisioning the transformation of post-mining lakescapes into a resilient cultural landscape
Diploma Project 2023 | WLA Students Honour Awards | Mittelweser, Germany
Sand is the most heavily extracted material on the planet, with 50 billion tons extracted annually for construction purposes. The mining operation involves digging below the groundwater table, resulting in groundwater lakes as a post-mining landscape. Typically, these post- mining lakes are left abandoned for nature’s reclamation.
However, this project in Mittelweser, Germany, challenges this convention by intervening before the negative consequences of mining occur and prompt positive transformation by curating a post-mining cultural landscape that brings new activities, climate resilience and cultural identity to the local community, which has contributed its land and materials to the society.
The Mining Reclamation Plan and its Post-Mining Lakescape
Situated along the River Weser, The Mittelweser floodplain is the largest sand extraction region in northern Germany. Since the 1960s, mining companies have acquired farmlands for their operations. These mining activities involve excavating below the groundwater table, creating groundwater lakes as a post-mining landscape. Consequently, the agricultural landscape has been progressively transformed into an expansive lakescape of 500 hectares. Predictions indi- cate that the lake areas will double by 2035 as mining continue. The large post-mining evapo- rating water surfaces have led to groundwater depletion, resulting in the drying of farmlands. Together with the rising flood events, the region faces an increasing climate challenge.
Transforming Mines Collectively into a Landscape Infrastructure
Given these challenges, the project proposes an alternative landscape framework
that unites the Given these challenges, the project proposes an alternative landscape framework that unites the scattered post-mining lakes collectively into a landscape infrastructure that benefits local villagers. This approach utilizes only 50% of the current mining plan to address concerns regarding arable land loss, allowing farming to coexist with the transformed landscape. The new landscape structure connects groundwater lakes with existing ditches to collect rainwater, expands forest patches along the
lakes to create riparian detention zones and introduces small sealed irrigation ponds
for dry seasons. The composition of the landscape master plan is aesthetically and administratively guided by farming plots. Such that it creates a performative cultural landscape that showcases the enhanced geological dynamics of the river meander and offers flexibility in implementation on a regional scale.
Utilizing the Mining Process as a Landscape Process
Studying the post-mining landscape formation at a closer scale, the project capitalizes on the mining process as a method for shaping the landscape. It introduces the “Cut-Fill-Cultivation” model, an evolution of the current mining operation, closure, and rehabilitation procedures. The new model effectively integrated the mining process into the design and construction of the post-mining landscape.
Diverging from the conventional rehabilitation that focus of stabilizing mine edges with limited slope ratios of 1:2 to 1:5 slope ratios, this project embraces a broader range of slope ratios. This diversity crafted various water edges and responded to fluctuations in groundwater levels. It fostered habitats with various moisture gradient, ranging from wetland areas, riparian woodland and further transitioning into the existing drier cropfields. These interconnected habitats enhances biodiversity, provides protection against floods and soil erosion, creates a more climate adaptive ecosystem.
Crafting the Landscapes with Materials Reclaimed from Mining and Farms
One of the project goals is to reveal the underground materials that the community has con- tributed and allow them to be enjoyed by the community too. Therefore, the project reclaimed a small portion of materials the mining company has extracted for rehabilitation. Furthermore, local farms offer additional resources including bricks, timber, and wood chips, which further enrich the project’s material palette. The material from mining and farming became a design inspiration and origin of the new programmed water-edges. It creates the Sandy Beach, Brick Terrace, Rocky Shore, Willow Strips and Riparian Wetland. The five water edges together create the Lakeside Edge Park.
Curating a Post-Mining Lakescape into a Resilient Cultural Landscape
The resulting post-mining cultural landscape is distinctly rooted in the region’s rich agricultur- al and industrial history. Villagers can come together at the edge park, taking a refreshing dip into the sandy beach, having a picnic at the brick terrace, watching kids play in the rocky shore or walking along the wetland boardwalk. I envision a scene where villages embraced by the blossoms of cherry trees along the lakeside and celebrating the beauty of growth and harvest while enjoying each other’s company.
The proposed project in Mittelweser, Germany serves as a model for other regions grappling with the impact of mining activities on their landscape. It is a call for a new perspective on post-industrial landscapes and an opportunity to reimagine them as assets rather than liabili- ties.
