Top Plate Viewing Platform

Provenance

Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Settings: 14mm · f/7.1 · 0.6s · ISO 64
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm

The reactor hall floor of HIFAR at Lucas Heights spreads wide beneath a curved corrugated wall. Yellow structural columns rise to the ceiling. A "Keep Clear" semicircle is painted red on the stained concrete below.

Edition

Open edition

Open edition
Printed to order, no fixed quantity. Each print is hand-signed by the photographer.

Limited edition
A fixed number of prints exist. Once sold, the edition closes permanently. Each print is individually numbered and signed.

$100.00 AUD

Colour

Signed, numbered, with COA. Made to order in 10 to 20 business days (framed). Shipped in protective packaging with edition certificate, paper-stock reference and a printed care guide.

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In situ

01 PROVENANCE

Print datasheet

Title: Top Plate Viewing Platform
Series: ANSTO HIFAR
Catalogue: AHF-037
Process: Giclée
Captured: 7 October 2022
Camera: NIKON D850
Lens: 14.0-24.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture: f/7.1
Shutter: 0.6s s
ISO: 64
Focal length: 14 mm
Paper: Ilford Galerie Smooth Cotton Rag 310 gsm
Paper size: 290 × 200 mm
Location: Lucas Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Authenticity: C2PA verified provenance →
Recognised by: National Trust of Australia (NSW), 2016 Heritage Award, Multimedia

02 LOCATION

Lucas Heights, New South Wales, Australia

Map · Mapbox · OpenStreetMap

03 THE STORY

About this print

The reactor hall floor of HIFAR at Lucas Heights spreads wide beneath a curved corrugated wall. Yellow structural columns rise to the ceiling at regular intervals around the perimeter. A red "Keep Clear" semicircle is painted on the stained concrete of the floor, marking the swing radius of the polar crane above. The space is otherwise open to the structural enclosure of the containment building.

The HIFAR containment building was the iconic white shell of the Lucas Heights skyline, designed to maintain negative pressure throughout the reactor's operational life. Consulting architects Stephenson and Turner of Sydney were responsible for the site's associated buildings and services. The reactor itself was supplied by Head Wrightson Processes Ltd of the UK. The external shell is currently retained as the Phase A decommissioning works proceed inside.

04 FROM THE FIELD NOTES

The reactor hall at HIFAR curves upward in a wide concrete drum. A yellow overhead crane spans the space. Below it, the top plate viewing platform sits behind white barriers pinned with technical diagrams of the reactor core. Red steel covers are bolted into the floor, stamped KEEP CLEAR. Fluorescent light catches oil stains on the concrete. The air smells like old grease and warm metal.

Brett Patman

The series

ANSTO HIFAR

2022 · 49 photographs

HIFAR, the High Flux Australian Reactor, was Australia's first nuclear reactor. It went critical at 11:15 pm on Sunday 26 January 1958 and ran for forty-nine years and four days before being permanently shut down on 30 January 2007. The reactor was the last of six DIDO-class research reactors built worldwide to cease operation.

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05 SIZE GUIDE

Print sizes

The anatomy view shows what this finish is as a physical object: paper margin, mat band, frame depth, acrylic profile. The comparison strip shows how each size sits relative to the others at true scale. Click a size or a finish to update both.