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| HER Number | MWB22572 |
|---|
| Record Type | Building |
|---|
| Name | Building C16, character area A10, AWE Aldermaston |
|---|
Summary
Unlisted laboratory building constructed in about 1955 in relation to the nuclear deterrent
Monument Type(s):
Full Description
Building C15, within character area A10, is located at the centre of the administration, research and development part of the AWE's Aldermaston site, which formed part of the original 1950s and early 1960s AWRE site <1>. It is connected by a brick and glazed corridor to C16 to which a third building, C24, was also connected to the north until 2005 or 2006.
It was built in around 1955. The lower sections of the walls are of red or buff brick and the majority of the exterior is clad in profiled steel sheeting. The southern half is two storeys high and the northern half is three storeys high. The northern half was added in 1981.
Both C15 and C16 were built to house equipment and laboratories for High Energy-Density Physics (HEDP) experiments in relation to designing a nuclear deterrent without underground testing. Building C16 housed the High Energy Laser Embodying Neodymium (HELEN) system and associated equipment as well as diagnostic capability, dark rooms, clean room, conference room facility and offices. It closed on Friday 3 April 2009 and much of this work since has been undertaken in the ORION facility. In the meantime, the building has been used for the assembly of x-ray equipment,
as a store for cleaning equipment and as the site Personal Protective Equipment showroom.
Level 2 building recording of this building was undertaken in March 2017 ahead of a proposal to demolish it <1>.
Sources and further reading
| <01> | AWE. 2017. Historic Building Record: C15 and C16. MER-891-000079. 2019 WBC Network. [Unpublished document / SWB149949] |
Related Monuments
| MWB16503 | Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) (Monument) |
| MWB22571 | Building C15, character area A10, AWE Aldermaston (Building) |
| MWB22573 | Site of building C24, character area A10, AWE Aldermaston (Monument) |
Associated Excavations and Fieldwork
| EWB1837 | Historic Building Record: C15 and C16 (Ref: MER-891-000079) |
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