MARKED BY THE SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY of atomic energy, the nuclear age, which spans the twentieth century, has changed the nature of culture as well as the landscape.l Vast, secret landscapes play host to nuclear arms and commercial energy producers. 2 Nuclear sites concern not only scientists and politicians, but also environmental designers/artists. The need to evoke a cultural discourse, protect future generations, reveal or conceal radioactive burial sites and recycle retired installations engenders our participation. How do we intersect with these hellish places? Do we have a potent role in addressing this conundrum? In what follows, I confront the consumption and design of today's most daunting places - the landscapes of nuclear material production, processing, testing and burial.
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/miriam_engler/4/
This article is from Landscape Review, 9(2) 2005: 45-58. Posted with permission.