Section
Classical and classified
Drawing by architect Viktor Zakharov reinterpreted by GRACE
2025
The original section of the entire complex is retraced on a translucent surface at a scale of 1:40. It exposes the didactic quality of this architecture: the complex is literally a diagram of how it functions. The heliostats are oriented southwards and follow the sun, directing its rays towards the concentrator, and the latter in turn reflects them onto the focal point of the furnace, which has a diameter of approximately 40 cm. This procedure allows le furnace to rapidly reach extremely high temperatures, removing external factors and impurities that could influence the composition of the material during the melting phase.
The architect who designed the complex, Viktor Zakharov, is a mysterious figure in the history of Soviet architecture of that period. He worked for a classified Soviet institute in Moscow (marked on the project drawings as PO Box 1158) that developed projects for the Ministry of Defence such as reactors, accelerators, and industrial sites. There is hardly any literature about Zakharov, except for a peculiar text written after he passed away in 2021, describing a church shaped like a ship that he designed after his retirement. Apparently, the final stage of his career focused on religious architecture, an enduring interest that can already be recognised in the strange and fascinating appearance of sun deities on the early sketches for the Solar Institute. However, these drawings could also hint at humanity’s longstanding interest in harnessing solar energy.