alastair philip wiper photographs the secret city in oak ridge national laboratory, tennessee

"Alastair Philip Wiper documents the inside of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, USA, in the photography project, The Secret City. In the series, the photographer captures the machinery and spaces inside the infrastructure, which was established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project. The laboratory's first purpose was to refine uranium and plutonium for the production of atomic bombs, and it became a town that was built quickly to house workers, with the population reaching 75,000 during World War II."

"After the war, the Oak Ridge National Laboratory changed its mission and became a national center for nuclear research, materials science, biology, energy studies, and computer technology. Today, it is one of the largest science and energy laboratories under the U.S. Department of Energy system. Through the photographs of Alastair Philip Wiper, viewers are afforded the inner workings of the laboratory, from the space housing the first continuously operating nuclear reactor in the world"

Oak Ridge National Laboratory was established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project to refine uranium and plutonium for atomic bomb production. The facility rapidly became a town built to house workers, with its population reaching 75,000 during World War II. The community was called The Secret City because its existence and purpose were hidden, and most residents did not know the nature of their work until the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan in 1945. After the war, the laboratory shifted to nuclear research, materials science, biology, energy studies, and computer technology and became a major U.S. Department of Energy laboratory. Interior spaces include reactors, accelerators, hot cells, computing centers, utility lines, and a mix of historic and modern machinery.

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