This project reimagines the future of Thetford Mines following the asbestos industry’s collapse. It proposes landscape restoration and a new sustainable district combining housing and ecotourism. By healing environmental damage and honoring historical identity, the design aims to transform a former industrial site into a source of community pride and renewal.

Athabasca tailings ponds contain over 1.2 trillion litres of toxic wastewater that grows daily. Conventional drying is slow and inefficient, so this research team developed a solar-heated cotton-layer device that accelerates evaporation by 400%. Their goal is to reclaim the contaminated land by rapidly reducing tailings volume.