Secret Cities: The Architecture and Planning of the Manhattan Project is a new exhibition at the National Building Museum that explores the highly classified effort to produce the atomic bomb. The exhibit places an emphasis on showcasing the three new “secret cities” that were built to accommodate the tens of thousands of people who worked on the project.
Oak Ridge, Tenn., Hanford/Richland, Wash., and Los Alamos, N.M., will be explored through original documents, photos, artifacts, maps, and models. The three cities were built from scratch by the U.S. government to accommodate the vast number of people and large-scale, secure facilities necessary for the project.
The K-25 plant was built for the enrichment of uranium through gaseous diffusion, in which gaseous U-235 was separated from U-238 through an incredibly fine mesh. When completed, K-25 was the largest building in the world under one roof. National Archives and Records Administration.
The cities, which were built in about three years, were heavily reliant on prefabricated construction and helped test and develop emerging ideas about planning and design.
The exhibition also touches on the postwar development of the cities, which remain centers of scientific research today. For more information, click here.
During World War II, the U.S. military erected thousands of prefabricated or semi-prefabricated houses across the country. One of the most common houses in Oak Ridge was the B-1 model, commonly known as the Flat Top. Each of these houses was built in a factory and transported by truck in two or three pieces to the site, where it was assembled atop a foundation. The architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) oversaw the planning of the city and the design and construction of most buildings within it. National Archives and Records Administration.
The camp for construction workers at Hanford ultimately housed upwards of 50,000 people, making it the fourth largest “city” in the state of Washington. Item courtesy of the U.S. Department of Energy, Hanford Collection.
The B Reactor at Hanford was the world’s first large-scale nuclear reactor. It produced plutonium for the device tested at the Trinity site in New Mexico on July 16, 1945, and for the bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945. The B Reactor was permanently shut down in 1968, and is now being converted into a museum. National Archives and Records Administration.
Retail establishments at Hanford during the war, including this branch of the famed Sears, Roebuck chain, typically occupied very modest buildings. Item courtesy of the US Department of Energy, Hanford Collection.
Sophisticated equipment was used to monitor and control the potentially hazardous industrial processes at the K-25 plant and other Manhattan Project facilities. National Archives and Records Administration.
Related Stories
Codes and Standards | Apr 12, 2024
ICC eliminates building electrification provisions from 2024 update
The International Code Council stripped out provisions from the 2024 update to the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) that would have included beefed up circuitry for hooking up electric appliances and car chargers.
Urban Planning | Apr 12, 2024
Popular Denver e-bike voucher program aids carbon reduction goals
Denver’s e-bike voucher program that helps citizens pay for e-bikes, a component of the city’s carbon reduction plan, has proven extremely popular with residents. Earlier this year, Denver’s effort to get residents to swap some motor vehicle trips for bike trips ran out of vouchers in less than 10 minutes after the program opened to online applications.
Laboratories | Apr 12, 2024
Life science construction completions will peak this year, then drop off substantially
There will be a record amount of construction completions in the U.S. life science market in 2024, followed by a dramatic drop in 2025, according to CBRE. In 2024, 21.3 million sf of life science space will be completed in the 13 largest U.S. markets. That’s up from 13.9 million sf last year and 5.6 million sf in 2022.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 12, 2024
Habitat starts leasing Cassidy on Canal, a new luxury rental high-rise in Chicago
New 33-story Class A rental tower, designed by SCB, will offer 343 rental units.
Student Housing | Apr 12, 2024
Construction begins on Auburn University’s new first-year residence hall
The new first-year residence hall along Auburn University's Haley Concourse.
K-12 Schools | Apr 11, 2024
Eric Dinges named CEO of PBK
Eric Dinges named CEO of PBK Architects, Houston.
Construction Costs | Apr 11, 2024
Construction materials prices increase 0.4% in March 2024
Construction input prices increased 0.4% in March compared to the previous month, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Producer Price Index data released today. Nonresidential construction input prices also increased 0.4% for the month.
Healthcare Facilities | Apr 11, 2024
The just cause in behavioral health design: Make it right
NAC Architecture shares strategies for approaching behavioral health design collaboratively and thoughtfully, rather than simply applying a set of blanket rules.
K-12 Schools | Apr 10, 2024
A San Antonio school will provide early childhood education to a traditionally under-resourced region
In San Antonio, Pre-K 4 SA, which provides preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, and HOLT Group, which owns industrial and other companies, recently broke ground on an early childhood education: the South Education Center.
University Buildings | Apr 10, 2024
Columbia University to begin construction on New York City’s first all-electric academic research building
Columbia University will soon begin construction on New York City’s first all-electric academic research building. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), the 80,700-sf building for the university’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons will provide eight floors of biomedical research and lab facilities as well as symposium and community engagement spaces.