The threat of nuclear warfare loomed over the entire world during the Cold War (and arguably still does today) but the very first nuclear weapons were developed in a handful of specific, top-secret sites. Soon you’ll be able to visit them.
Just last month, the White House signed a bill authorizing a new National Park that consists of more than 30 sites related to the Manhattan project, all concentrated in three locations: Hanford, Washington; Oak Ridge, Tennessee; and Los Alamos, New Mexico. All were instrumental in providing the materials and technology that went into the first bomb tested in New Mexico and the subsequent weapons used in Japan. According to the Atomic Heritage Foundation, one of many organizations that lobbied for the bill, the park will be formally established within one year once the Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of the Interior (DOI) work out the necessary details. The DOE will take charge of safety, preservation, and environmental concerns, while the DOI’s National Park Service agency will act as “the nation’s storyteller,” tying the disparate sites together. A source of funding has yet to be determined, but assuming the plan moves forward, what story will the park tell? What role can architecture play in communicating a narrative about the past, present, and future of nuclear technology?
Hiroshima Peace Center and Memorial Park and the A-Bomb Dome. Located in the heart of Hiroshima, the dome was originally a public exhibition hall for industrial products.Top image Wiiii/Wikipedia, bottom image User:Aude/Wikipedia.
There are few examples of architecture explicitly interacting with nuclear weapons and technology, but those few are tellingly significant. First and foremost is the Hiroshima Peace Center and Memorial Park designed by Kenzo Tange from 1949–54. Constructed with Le Corbusier’s signature pilotis and exposed reinforced concrete, the museum focuses on life in Hiroshima during WWII, the U.S.’s development and deployment of the atomic bomb, and the effects of the attack itself. Exhibition displays include a model of the city before the bombing, personal artifacts recovered from the rubble, and graphic explanations of the health effects of nuclear warfare.
Across the river from the Museum stand the ghostly ruins of the Atomic Bomb Dome, the only large structure to survive the blast. It abides as a mute reminder of Hiroshima’s past: The dome has been stabilized and preserved for future generations. Furthermore, an annual ceremony is held at the Park’s cenotaph to remember the victims and pray for peace. Charged with emotion and purpose, the architecture has a specific and pointed objective: to memorialize the past and shape public opinion. However, there are other approaches to remembering the events of 1945.
The National Museum of Nuclear Science & History was built in 2009.Images AllenS/Wikipedia.
In 1969, the Sandia Atomic Museum opened its doors to the public on Kirtland Air Force base in Nevada. Not only was the museum staffed by the U.S.Air Force personnel, Kirtland was and is the home of the Air Force unit charged with handling nuclear weapons. The museum eventually changed names, becoming the National Museum of Nuclear Science & History, and moved to nearby Albuquerque. Housed within an unremarkable structure, the museum’s purpose less emotional: to “provide an objective, accessible window into the past, present, and future of nuclear science.” While the museum’s exhibits explore a range of subjects, from the life cycle of uranium to Albert Einstein and the 1945 bombings, it’s clearly aimed at a younger audience. So perhaps there’s an opportunity for the National Park to communicate a more complex and adult narrative?
Top: the massive X-10 graphite reactor at Oak Ridge supplied Los Alamos with its fist significant amounts of plutonium. Bottom: the Fuller Lodge hosted much of the Los Alamos’ scientists social gatherings. They are two of the many sites designated in the new National Park.Top image Ed Westcott/Wikipedia, bottom image Mark Pellegrini/Wikipedia.
That opportunity becomes much more intriguing when the new National Park’s three locations of Oak Ridge, Tenn. Hanford, Wash.; and Los Alamos, New Mex., are examined in detail. Surprisingly, all three are active laboratories and research centers. The uranium and plutonium used in the first atomic bombs was produced in Oak Ridge where facilities still research nuclear energy and nuclear medicine, among other non-nuclear endeavors. Similarly, plutonium was also produced in Handford, a facility that is not only heavily contaminated with nuclear radiation, but is also still home to an active nuclear power plant and DOE research labs. The first atomic bomb was assembled at Los Alamos, also now a national laboratory. These aren’t just places of nuclear history, but home to programs shaping the future of nuclear technology.
Top: Oak Ridge today. Bottom: the first Plutonium reactor at Hanford as seen on a recent tour.Top image Oak Ridge Office of Environmental Management, bottom image Martin Kaste via idea stream.
While you can tour now-defunct nuclear test sites strewn across the Nevada deserts, these new National Park sites will be uniquely situated alongside the preserved past and active present of nuclear technology research and development. The Memorial in Hiroshima and the National Museum in Albuquerque offer two very disparate views toward the events of 1945: a somber remembrance and a decidedly unemotional evaluation. Nuclear technology is essentially a tool, a means to an end, but one with massive ramifications for all humanity. The horrors and opportunities it offers — from warfare to radioactive waste to clean energy and more — are uniquely present and tangible in these sites.
Given the security concerns and funding challenges — never mind the distance between them — it’s a tough idea to communicate in full. One science publication suggests that visitor centers at each site will provide historical context to visitors. But can they also speak to the context of the present and future? From an architect’s and curator’s perspective, a fascinating challenge to consider.