Oxidation of a destructive landscape
Tom Whitmore
Norwich University of the Arts
“Oxidation of a Destructive Landscape” proposes phytoremediation as a strategy for regenerating Orfordness, a former military site shaped by aviation, radar and atomic weapons testing. Decommissioning left behind craters, decaying buildings, scrap metal and contamination. Drawing on Michel Serres’ concept of the parasite—“the parasited one parasites the parasite”—the project introduces phytoremediating species to disrupt and transform these destructive conditions. Through new pavilions and the adaptive reuse of Lab 6 and the Pagodas as tree-testing facilities, waste becomes a resource for ecological repair. Over time, contaminated ground becomes fertile substrate, metal supports plant growth, and abandoned infrastructure is absorbed into a living system, reframing oxidation as a catalyst for renewal.