‘Absolute Simplicity to Knit the Landscape Back Again’ – Nuclear Landscapes in Post-War Britain

This talk is part of the Situating Architecture public lecture series. This term's lectures will return to campus, taking place at 22 Gordon Street, London, WC1H 0QB.

Abstract

The modernisation of Britain after the 2nd World War led to an unprecedented scale of infrastructural expansion from the urban areas to (traditionally perceived as rural) landscapes of the country. The building of motorways, power infrastructures and airfields were often referred to as an ‘invasion of the countryside’. 

The creation of landscapes around post-war power stations was informed by Section 37 (‘Amenity Clause’) of the 1957 Electricity Act, that required the minimisation of the impact of generating and transmission sites on scenery, flora and fauna, resulting in the appointment of landscape architects on new projects. 

This paper and lecture will focus on the tensions and mitigations of building nuclear power stations – and new, designed landscapes around them in sometimes sensitive areas, including coastal sites and National Parks, and will question the relevance of these histories in today’s context of the climate and biodiversity emergency and energy crisis. 

Biography

Luca Csepely-Knorr is a chartered landscape architect and art and architecture historian, working as Research Chair in Architecture at the Liverpool School of Architecture. She is leading the AHRC funded research ‘Women of the Welfare Landscape’ and is co-investigator of the ‘Landscapes of Post-War Infrastructure’ projects. 

Image: Wylfa Power Station / Landscape architecture: Sylvia Crowe /  Luca Csepely-Knorr