EARTHBOX is a brand new immersive experience – an unprecedented attraction that brings together artistry, ancient geology and engineering at the Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West. It’s a global first that has been years in the planning.
The attraction is an experience of the world beneath our feet. A blend of nature, engineering, history and imagination, EARTHBOX takes visitors 5 meters below the surface of the ground by way of a gently curved ramp that leads into a 24 meter long excavated chamber. Within the dimly lit chamber, visitors are offered a moving experience and another perspective on life, by being brought into contact with raw earth walls dating back through millions of years to a time well before the dawn of humanity. 
The EARTHBOX experience requires up to 90 minutes and includes a transfer from the meeting point on the EARTHBOX tractor shuttle, approximately twenty minutes in the EARTHBOX chamber, time to enjoy the landscape and browse the retail offering of natural and earth-based products inspired by the experience before returning to the parking area via shuttle.
While EARTHBOX is an attraction in its own right, it will also be activated as a venue available for private hire and intriguing events. Some of the events in the pipeline include a premium Chefs Series featuring top South African chefs. The first confirmed chef is Vusi Ndlovu; Africa and Middle East San Pellegrino Best Young Chef award recipient, African Culinary Library co-founder and co-owner of the EDGE Group. Ndlovu is set to create a uniquely African culinary experience in the EARTHBOX chamber on the 21, 22 and 23 November. Ticket numbers will be limited and on sale soon HERE.
EARTHBOX will also play host to a Music Series in the chamber on the last Sunday of the month with no more than 100 people enjoying a live concert below the surface. The first performance on 26 November is by Afro-pop sensation Zimbini Makwetu. Ticket sales open soon.
Visitors can also experience EARTHBOX through yoga, nia and pilates. In collaboration with Life Retreat, EARTHBOX offers daily 8am underground wellness sessions in the chamber. Drop in classes are R160 and three month class bundles are also available. Book on Webtickets via the Earthbox website
EARTHBOX’s creators, The Dream Commission, envisioned the installation as a place of reflection, a pause in the busy-ness of life. Visitors are required to put away their phones and simply take in the encounter- a seldom accessed experience of the world below our feet.
Children of five and older are welcome but the experience is not suitable for small children (under 5). | The experience is technology free and the use of mobile phones and photography is not permitted inside EARTHBOX. | The EARTHBOX experience is wheelchair accessible with dedicated parking on site for wheelchair users.
International experiential studio The Dream Commission
The project is the first by international experiential studio The Dream Commission who are committed to topping up the current global quota of creativity and curiosity through exciting and unusual once-off projects.
The Dream Commission’s Founding Partner and Director, Marina Busse, explains the impulse behind creating an experiential company. “Reality is tough enough, so finding joy in the small things, with a sprinkle of playfulness, is a great antidote to the grind. Brad (Brad Baard: Creative Director of The Dream Commission) and I, are looking to help reawaken that innate sense of childlike wonder; to give people inspiration, hope and a reappreciation of the everyday through unexpected and interesting experiences.”
The planning for EARTHBOX started in 2021 and has been a phenomenal undertaking involving engineers, environmentalists, geologists, artists and designers.
Travel back into history in this truly immersive and unique experience!
WHAT: EARTHBOX
WHERE: Lourensford Wine Estate, Lourensford Road, Somerset West, Cape Town, 7130
WHEN: 1 November 2023 to 1 May 2024.
BOOKING: Between R100 and R 250 depending on the time of day and day of the week and all tickets must be booked online as no sales are processed at the venue. Book HERE
INFO: visit | Instagram | Facebook
See also Cape Town Green Map
