Readers of World Nuclear News have revealed visions of a 21st century nuclear power plant, at ease in its environment. Some of the best are reproduced here.
 
                        
                    
                        Readers of World Nuclear News have revealed visions of a 21st century nuclear power plant, at ease in its environment.
 
Nuclear power plants should have their features blended into the environment as much as possible, while boasting strong, hi-tech design for the components that remain on view. Placing reactors underground was a popular suggestion, as was improving materials used for large highly visible structures like containment domes and cooling towers.
 
Many thanks to those readers that submitted their own ideas of the way nuclear power plants should be designed in the modern era. Some of the best are reproduced below.
 
  
 | 
  Aleš Buršič blends power plant 
 features with the environment 
 through the use of earth 
 coverings. A hybrid cooling 
 tower is sunken to reduce its 
 visual impact and the 'green 
 barrier' also helps in 
 protection from external 
 hazards. 
 | 
 
   | 
  Spain-based architecture firm 
 with nuclear experience 
 IDOM-ACXT proposes a living 
 skin sustained by rainwater to 
 cover the main plant structures.
  
 Left, making a natural feature 
 from an artifice, its appearance 
 would change through the 
 seasons. 
 | 
  Another IDOM ACTX design 
 sees an second skin erected 
 which would be opaque in 
 sunlight and translucent at 
 night. 
  
 Night-time lighting transforms 
 the power plant into a new 
 landmark. 
 | 
 
  | 
  Christian Raetzke's hand 
 drawings show a modern 
 nuclear power plant benefiting 
 from eccentric and modern 
 superstructures that give a new 
 outline to familiar techonolgy.
  
 Left, a traditional nuclear plant 
 gets retro treatment, including 
 a Greco-Roman facade. 
 | 
 
 Carlton Stoiber proposes specialised designs as approved by 
 senior nuclear industry figures. An undersea unit boasts a 
 reliable source of cooling water, while a pyramid superstructure  
 has the advantages of operating experience and seismic safety.
  
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