5 minute read
A Journey into the Past
Dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant disaster, the multimedia exhibition entitled "Chornobyl. Journey" designed by balbek studio tells the tragedy and people's stories from a new point of view. The organizers aspired to tell the story of Chornobyl in a contemporary way and to transport the audience to the epicentre of the events using an immersive technology such as virtual reality.
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The exhibition was located inside the main pavilion of the Expocenter of Ukraine National Complex. It is a monumental building erected in the 1950s, crowned by a dome with a 25- meter spire. The pomp of the building emphasized the weight of the Chornobyl tragedy. Once balbek bureau received the project and evaluated its challenges, the studio's team visited the Exclusion Zone to absorb the local atmosphere. To achieve the effect of gradual immersion, the structure of the exhibition was designed around the principle of a literary narrative: with the progression of the storyline, a climax and a conclusion. It was decided to place the entrance off-center: this allowed to direct visitors to the beginning of the exhibition straight away and convey the logic of the content. The central entrance to the pavilion, on the contrary, was used as the exit. Balbek bureau aspired to integrate its design with the shape and volume of the pavilion as much as possible. The management of the Expocentre aided in this, giving the green light to repaint the walls and dismantle the temporary metal constructions left from a previous exhibition. Just behind the reception stood a standard doorway that led into the exhibition space. It was dismantled completely and instead a plasterboard wall was installed, which cuts through the doorway. This solution helped guide the visitors in the right direction, leading them straight into the main hall, where the exhibition begins. The first block – ‘1986’ – is an excursion into the events of that time in Ukraine and the world.
Next, we see the ‘Catastrophe’ block, dedicated to the city of Pripyat and the Chornobyl disaster. The designers deliberately complicated the visitors’ movement, creating a labyrinth that doesn’t make it easy to bypass this block. This element is a metaphor for the arduous journey that the Chornobyl tragedy had to become for many people. At the end of the block stands a six-metre model of the sculpture ‘Prometheus’ – the symbol of Pripyat. Its stylized silhouette, created by designer Sergii Holtvyansky, is made of polyfoam with the image printed on PVC.
As we pass by ‘Prometheus’ and through a screen, we find ourselves in a space with large windows. The transition between blackout zones and zones with natural light conveys the feeling that life goes on even after tragedy. The educational blocks such as ‘Atom’ and ‘Nature’ were placed in areas flooded with natural light. At the center of the hall there is a wooden ‘house’. It’s a momentous exhibit, which tells the story of the people whose lives were changed by the catastrophe: it records the stories of the liquidators and their relatives, station workers, those who were forced to leave their homes, and those born in 1986.
Balbek bureau settled on a design with a non-standard configuration and a cut roof, which symbolizes the rift in the lives of families affected by the disaster. The "house" has two private rooms where visitors can share their own stories about the Chornobyl tragedy. Behind another screen stands a hall with wooden benches, where lectures and film screenings are held. The domed ceiling, reminiscent of the reactor lid, holds a projection of the Chornobyl Zone logo, which is designed to gradually disappear. For maximum darkness in this area, we used blackout curtains.
The ‘Today, tomorrow’ block prompts a discussion about the future of Chornobyl. The exhibit is summed up by a projection of Pink Floyd’s ‘Marooned’ music video. The exhibition concludes with ‘Forest’ – a symbol of nature reborn even after the catastrophe. The team’s task was to design the green zone so that it would become a place one would want to engrave in their memory. Planters containing the trees were hidden under a metal framework, and a false floor was constructed for the moss. In the middle of the forest stands a bridge, crossing which you can fully immerse yourself into the atmosphere of the nature reserve. Round benches were placed under the trees, allowing visitors to rest and contemplate the journey taken.
