The Ethereal City of Pink

Architecture Design Thesis
Master in Architecture, National University of Singapore

The Ethereal City of Pink is created in an environment of salt, sorghum, algae and flamingoes; ecological agents which now sustain the pink archipelago within which this thesis proposal emerges. The Ethereal City capitalises on the shades of pink in the seasonal variations of dry and wet so that these natural and ecological constructs become embedded into an architectural narrative and experience. The colour pink is also ultimately a shorthand for a Batswana identity that speaks of independence and deference from the clutches of mass industrialisation that has defined the future and past of these fragile salt plains.

The architectural design thesis is a response to the capitalistic demands of a growing salt industry sited in Sua Pan, Botswana. It presents a speculative ecological landscape which celebrates the denigrated shade of pink - which was rumoured to be impure due to the pink coloration of its salt brines.