About this study
Welcome to ‘Landscapes of Atomic Optimism, ' the working title of a PhD undertaken by Peter Williams at the University of Liverpool. This research examines Dame Sylvia Crowe’s groundbreaking landscape designs for the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) during the development of Britain’s first-generation civilian nuclear power stations.
This study focuses on the former Nuclear Power Station sites at Bradwell, Trawsfynydd, and Wylfa, along with the landscapes Crowe designed for them. It examines their evolution over six decades while contextualising their historical significance and relevance to a zero-carbon future. These sites represent critical intersections of cultural, social, technological, and environmental history, making this investigation both timely and essential as they face redevelopment and repurposing in the coming years and decades.
The project will comprehensively capture the landscapes through on-site observations, including photography, mapping, drawing, and writing. This will result in a detailed gazette that explores the history and contemporary nature of the sites, their evolution, and how the discussion about their future could be shaped.
If you wish to discuss any aspect of this research, please don't hesitate to contact Peter Williams with any questions or to arrange a discussion.
Bradwell Power Station 1962-2002
Image © 2025 Peter Williams
Trawsfynydd Power station 1965-1991
Image © 2025 Peter Williams
Wylfa Power station 1971-2015
Image © 2025 Peter Williams
Who was Dame Sylvia Crowe?
Dame Sylvia Crowe (1901-1997) was one of the UK’s most influential and outstanding landscape architects of the twentieth century. As a founding member of the International Federation of Landscape Architects and an avid traveller, her network and influence were global.
She was awarded the Gold Medal of the UK Landscape Institute in 1986, the American Society of Landscape Architects Medal in 1988, and the Gold Medal of the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects in 1990 for her work on Commonwealth Park in Canberra and her significant contributions to the profession in Australia.
In the UK, Crowe designed landscapes as diverse as private gardens, reservoirs, public parks, and the settings for New Towns. She was also responsible for over 2 million acres of forestry land when she became the first Landscape Architect appointed as a consultant to the Forestry Commission in 1963 at the age of 62, while most of her contemporaries would have been contemplating retirement.
One of her greatest legacies is her writing; spanning over 50 years, she was a prolific writer and contributor to the discourse on landscape design and the profession. Her seminal book, “ The Landscape of Power, " published in 1958, was groundbreaking in assessing the visual and social impact of rapid changes in the British landscape. The book highlighted her work on the new nuclear power station at Bradwell in Essex, which, along with Berkeley in Gloucestershire, was one of the first two civil nuclear power stations built by the Central Electricity Generating Board during a period of atomic optimism and would lead to her work at Trawsfynydd and Wylfa in North Wales.
The image above shows Dame Sylvia Crowe during a site inspection with the Central Electricity Board chief engineers at Trawsfynydd in 1962. The Image is from the Dame Sylvia Crowe Archive, © MERL Archives Reading - AR CRO PH3-I-II
About the Researcher
Peter Williams is an architect and landscape designer with over 20 years of professional experience. In 2019, he founded a small design studio to concentrate on his increasing interest in landscape-led architecture and using photography as an analytical and outreach tool.
He is currently photographing the transformation of industrial heritage within the Welsh landscape. Through photographic analysis of often-overlooked industrial remnants, he aims to highlight this tangible loss and its impact on the sense of place and identity.
Having long intended to return to academic study, he embarked on a PhD at Liverpool University in 2024 to develop what began as an independent photographic project on the work of Dame Sylvia Crowe, focusing on her contributions to the Central Electricity Generating Board and its lasting impact both in the UK and globally.
Peter's photographic work can be found at www.peterjakewilliams.com
