No longer mine: Repurposing the Tuolluvaara mine

Abstract

Technological advances in the deindustrialization era have significantly impacted the mining industry, whose legacy of environmental degradation from excessive extraction still casts a shadow over many places around the world. One such place is Kiruna, the backbone of the thesis, where mining actions have led to the city’s partial relocation of many remnants of great heritage value left behind – abandoned mines. One notable example is the Tuolluvaara mine, which hosts two rare mining towers that stand out due to their historical and visual significance. This thesis explores the future role of the Tuolluvaara mine in Kiruna, proposing a strategy for repurposing its premises. This project follows the concept of continuity, based on the theory of Solà-Morales, to prevent architectural practices from becoming an aggressive act in the transformation of the postindustrial area. This approach applies both to the transformation of buildings and the land they occupy, paying attention to heritage and history. Grounded in theories of abandoned and decayed architecture as palimpsest, terrain vague and collective memory, the design becomes an interplay between the past and the present. A phased transformation is developed to ensure gradual public access and integration, using the concepts of conversions for site’s premises alteration. The design considers the significance of the heritage buildings, but also the insignificance and instability of the ground that they are standing on - a messy and haphazard result of the deposition of excavated masses from previous mining activities as well as of the piling up of the soil from the construction of Kiruna’s new city centre. The project includes phytoremediation of the wasteland and separating it from public access until it regenerates while the buildings present on site are transformed into open-plan public spaces and adapted for a multifunctional implementation called a rotational programme. In a space defined by its users themselves, the architect’s task is to establish a versatile framework capable of adapting to various scenarios as a response to the constantly changing challenges of the city’s relocation. The study proposes solutions created on the layered example of Kiruna that could be applied to other cities facing similar challenges.