rückbau

Photobook about the dismantling of a nuclear power plant in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany Stendal/Arneburg Nuclear Power Plant Construction Site It was intended to be the largest nuclear power plant in East Germany. Had it been completed, it would have been one of the largest in reunified Germany: the Stendal/Arneburg Nuclear Power Plant. The original plans called for pressurized water reactors of Soviet design. The village of Niedergörne was razed to the ground for the construction, and the residents were relocated. At times, up to 10,000 people worked on the 700-hectare site. Even before the first and second units were commissioned, the political situation changed drastically. The Treuhandanstalt (Trust Agency) took over and, in 1991—after incurring further immense costs—ordered a final halt to construction. Since then, industrial companies have been established on a large part of the site. The already completed 150-meter-high cooling towers were demolished. The remaining reactor block, a gigantic concrete slab, has been dismantled piece by piece for over 30 years now. An endless, expensive process, which in this book is ironically titled »rückbau« I see the derelict structure as a warning sign of boundless faith in technology. A thoroughly morbid and exciting lens fodder. Published January 2025 230 x 310 mm 92 pp, 44 images hardvover, open binding