Situated in the Valea Sesii tailing pond in Apuseni Mountains, Romania, the project interrogates the possibilities of traumatised landscapes and forgotten architecture as catalysts for political change. The region is renowned for the uncontrolled, reckless mining that has led to several major environmental disasters.

Mining company Gabriel Resources’ 2004 proposal for a Gold Mine at the nearby Roșia Montană site has triggered a national civic awakening that has reshaped the whole area and transformed it into an activist fighting ground. However, even though halted for the moment, with the support of key political figures, the project threatens to recommence.

The project’s testbed will be the village of Vința - one of the seven abandoned settlements prone to completely disappear in the next 20 years due to the rising level of the pond. Three traditional buildings found in different states of decay will serve as the narrative’s main characters, each receiving an architectural costume that should protect and augment their presence in the extreme landscape.

Thus, besides serving as the backdrop for annual activist gatherings, the buildings will become protestors themselves. The structures are built in a sacrificial way, so the fluctuation nature of inhabitation and the landscape directly influences their future.