Remembering Chernobyl

Remembering Chernobyl was an exhibition that took place during the London Festival of Architecture 2016, marking the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986. The exhibition design was inspired by the tragic operation carried out by hundreds of Soviet coal miners following the reactor explosion. They worked around the clock for over a month, digging a 150-metre underground tunnel to create a chamber beneath the damaged reactor, in an attempt to neutralise the radiation. It is believed that many died from radiation poisoning as a result.

Visitors entered the exhibition through a pitch-black 16-metre long walkway, which created a tunnel approach that removed them from the bustle of London, and attempted to recreate the miners’ experience as they worked in dark, cramped conditions. The tunnel led to a dimly-lit room that explained how Belarus and its population were affected by the disaster.