Dystopian Narratives part of Architecture Graduates Research

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Dr Zane Atkinson recently graduated with his Masters in Architecture from the College of Humanities in which his research focused on Dystopian Narratives as a Tool for the rejuvenation of Brown Field sites where he proposed a mixed use park for Colenso in Ladysmith.

Atkinson’s research (supervised by Mr Mthembeni Mkhize) was born from his fascination and interest in science fiction and from a random blog that he stumbled upon. His research focused on rejuvenating three massive cooling towers of the abandoned power station at Colenso.

He is hopeful that his research will allow such abandoned areas to be converted to areas that can be used for tourism purposes and to contribute to educational and economic purposes to empower people.

‘Dystopian Narratives is a way to tell architectural stories in a bid to attract people and to give value to existing tourist attractions,’ said Atkinson.

His findings point to a positive shift of people’s perceptions to brown sites if such rejuvenation mechanisms are incorporated.

Atkinson currently works as a Freelancing Architect and a Board-game designer and is considering lecturing in the future.

Melissa Mungroo