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Posts Tagged ‘Deserted’

Secret Rooms Installed in Deserted Sewers & Maintenance Shafts

17 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Installation & Sound. ]

underground art installation

A series of abandoned subterranean spaces in Milan have been transformed into tiny living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms and kitchens, complete with furniture and fixtures.

underground bathroom shower

Designed by Italian artist Biancoshock, these small dwellings are rendered especially surreal thanks to bright colors and attention to detail. The project has a social dimension as well, inspired by the actual people forced to live in extreme spaces thanks to unfortunate circumstances, including the hundreds that live in the sewer systems of Romania or places like Las Vegas.

underground manhole shaft room

Whatever your own interpretation, the next time you pass a sewer grate, manhole cover or set of maintenance doors on the streets of Milan, it might be worth taking a closer look. More about the artist and his philosophy: “Ephemeralism has the purpose of producing works of art that have to exist briefly in space but limitlessly in time through the photography, the video and the media. He has realized more that 650 interventions in the streets of Italy, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, England, Hungary, Lithuania, Malesia, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Slovak, Slovenia and Spain and he is not thinking about stopping.”

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Mosaic Murals: Tile Patterns Spray-Painted in Deserted Spaces

04 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Art & Street Art & Graffiti. ]

tile artwork abandonment

A puzzle of layers rather than pieces, each of this spray-painted works takes aesthetic cues from historic Barcelona, deploying them in novel contexts using unexpected materials.

tile floor spraypaint stencil

tile finished piece

tile in progress

tile exposed exterior

Catalan artist Javier de Riba creates these vibrant works with stencils, one of the original tools of the street artist, bringing them to life so well they could be confused for glass or ceramic tiles.

tile wrapping skate park

tile curved surface stencil

tile floor mural

tile floor art spraypainted

His target locations vary, but his pieces can sometimes be found on sidewalks or the ramps at skate parks, though the floors of abandoned buildings are a popular pick. Deserted places make it easier to take time with a given work, but also add to the element of surprise when discovered by others.

tile painting

tile graffiti stencil outline

tile work floor ground

tile demolished house barcelona

Some are composed in square frames, though many break borders and some even wrap curve surfaces or sweep across entire floors. Currently, some of his work is on display at the Miscelanea gallery in Barcelona, including a large site-specific installation.

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Underwater Homes: Deserted Basements as Stormwater Cisterns

04 Oct

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

basement cistern basetern

In a dual effort to address urban blight and ailing infrastructure, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is piloting a new program to turn the basements of abandoned houses slated for demolition into rainwater basins. Meanwhile, the surface expression of these cisterns could be anything from a revealing expression of this new underground infrastructure to micro-parks or urban farms depending on neighborhood needs.

basement cistern project

Conceived by Erick Shambarger, the deputy director of Milwaukee’s Office of Environmental Sustainability, “The BaseTern concept is simple. Stormwater will be directed to an abandoned or foreclosed property’s basement, which, after the aboveground structure is demolished, is waterproofed and filled with gravel and stormwater-harvesting cells.” Effectively, load on existing stormwater runoff systems is reduced and complete demolition costs are simultaneously mitigated.

underground cistern system milwaukee

GIS data shows that the neighborhoods with the largest flood risks are also those with the highest foreclosure rates. The city owns over 900 deserted and condemned buildings, now potential candidates for unusual adaptive reuses. A basement cistern can hold anywhere from 10,000 to 40,000 gallons of water during storms and reduce adjacent flooding accordingly. Similar systems could also be deployed in coastal areas particularly susceptible to floods and where many waterfront homes are already being abandoned.

underground basement abandoned fill

Author Geoff Manaugh observes that “while there is something metaphorically unsettling in the idea that parts of a blighted, financially underwater neighborhood might soon literally be underwater—transformed into a kind of urban sponge for the rest of Milwaukee—the notion that the city can discover in its own economic misfortune a possible new engineering approach for dealing with seasonal flooding and super-storms is an inspiring thing to see.” (Flooded basement image by Naql).

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Course Correction: Deserted Golf Greens into Solar Power Plants

12 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned golf green solar

Derelict putting greens will be put to greener uses in Japan, where an abandoned golf course near Kyoto is being converted to the area’s largest solar energy-generating facility.

Solar power production represents an ideal type of landscape reuse in this context for many reasons: expansive areas with little shade and high sun exposure are perfect for laying out panels for maximum effect and efficiency. Developed by Kyocera, “the plant will generate an estimated 26,312 megawatt hours (MWh) per year — enough electricity to power approximately 8,100 typical local households.”

golf green conversion

Also under construction, a similar project in the Kagoshima Prefecture is being located on an area originally cleared for a golf course that was never finished and occupied. Critical to a country facing power issues in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear incident, these projects are also a sign of land use awareness and changing times. Just a few decades ago country club memberships sold for millions in Japan, but “overdevelopment of golf properties during the real-estate boom of the 1990’s and 2000’s has led to hundreds of idle courses today that are now under analysis for repurposing or redevelopment.” 

green golfing

Of course, closed golf courses are also an international problem well beyond the Japanese archipelago, giving this solution potentially global applications as well, particularly in the United States. Together, these projects should help inspire other countries to turn some of the most environmentally unsound landscapes toward more productive and sustainable uses.

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Deserted Aisles: 11 More Creepy Abandoned Supermarkets

26 Apr

[ By Steve in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned supermarket pripyat 1a
Supermarkets? More like Stupor Markets, amiright? That’s the case with these 11 abandoned supermarkets where “checkout” is more than a state of mind.

abandoned supermarket pripyat 1b

abandoned supermarket pripyat 1c

Cleanup in aisle… well, all of ‘em actually, and you’d better bring a hazmat suit along with a bucket & mop. Almost 30 years after the Chernobyl nuclear accident turned Pripyat into a creepy radioactive ghost town, the city’s snazzy supermarket recalls the good old days – Soviet style – when the shelves were stocked and the shopping carts had wheels.

abandoned supermarket pripyat 1d

abandoned supermarket pripyat 1e

Urbex ubergeek Florian from Abandoned Kansai visited the abandoned supermarket just off Lenin Square back in January of 2011 and lived to tell the tale – and post the images above. According to Florian’s native guide Maxim, Pripyat was a privileged place before the 1986 disaster and the central supermarket “was one of the few places in the Soviet Union that actually sold Chanel Nº 5.” Now it just stinks.

Well, ByeVee

abandoned supermarket hyvee newton 2

The soaring “V for Victory” signpost standing resolutely Ozymandias-like in the Iowa summer sun indicates the above abandoned supermarket above was once a HyVee. Flickr user Andrew T…has left the building captured the forlorn state of the place in June of 2012, sometime after HyVee consolidated their two existing Newton, IA stores into a newer, larger complex.

Howard’s End

abandoned supermarket baltimore 3a

Abandoned in 1999, the old Howard Park Super Pride supermarket on Liberty Heights Avenue finally succumbed to the wrecking ball after ShopRite selected the site for their new store.

abandoned supermarket baltimore 3b

abandoned supermarket baltimore 3c

Though it’s good to see any neighborhood revitalized, the oddly gentle demolition of the Super Pride’s landmark sign had to bring a tear to more than a few local eyes.

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Deserted Aisles 11 More Creepy Abandoned Supermarkets

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Devil’s Slide: Deserted Bay Area WWII Bunker Hovers in Midair

14 Apr

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

devil slide pillbox

Built on Devil’s Peak (along a promontory known as Devil’s Slide), this obsolete base end station was designed to spot, triangulate and radio in sightings of enemy ships approaching the San Francisco Bay.

devils slide mound

Rounding the bend along California’s scenic coastal State Route 1 from either north or south, it is impossible to miss the incredible bunker, which appears to float over the earth around it. While the area is fenced off, a parking zone nearby is used by some explorers as a place from which to venture closer to the structure, located just south of Pacifica and past a hillside highway tunnel.

devils slide

Though this is neither safe nor recommended, it is also possible to climb into the viewing slot on the first level then walk the stairs to the top – unofficially: the view is incredible. Meanwhile, the edges of the bunker have turned from supports to supported, cantilevered precariously over their surroundings, allowing you to walk up and sit under thousands of pounds of reinforced concrete.

devils slide cantilever

devils slide behind

While it looks like the work of nature, the apparent erosion surrounding the lone structure is reportedly a man-made effort designed to pave the way for further development, presumably by the military. At the same time, natural causes would not be too much of a surprise or stretch, considering that this section of highway has been known to close due to everything from earthquakes to landslides – the next disaster very well might take this abandoned building with it. The land and bunker are meanwhile owned by a private party and officially off limits (though with limited fencing).

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Devils Slide Deserted Bay Area Wwii Bunker Hovers In Midair

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Forgotten Heritage: Exploring Europe’s Largest Deserted Places

13 Mar

[ By WebUrbanist in Travel & Urban Exploration. ]

abandoned core moss covered

For the past three years, this bold and big-thinking photographer has located and explored some of the world’s most vast abandoned spaces, from power stations and cooling towers to gigantic castles and expansive mines.

abandoned radar dome images

abandoned plenum chamber interior

abandoned giant wind turbine

For Matt Emmett, “these places are far more interesting than the ‘official’ world heritage locations or tourist attractions.” He focuses on ruins that inspire awe and eschews dilapidated cities and derelict neighborhoods for a purer experience of forgotten places that show no trace of recent human occupation.

abandoned nuclear control desk

abandoned lung passage space

Silence is part of the key. “From the point of view of a photographer there is a total lack of distraction in the stillness of a derelict building; the sound and movement associated with people or workers has been removed, for me this makes them far more sensory than when they are occupied. Your mind can easily focus on what is around you and takes in so much more.”

abandoned film set doors

abandoned spatial experience shot

His recent destinations include large-scale industrial and military complexes with huge interiors and giant-sized artifacts that engender awe through sheer scale. Signs advising no entry, prohibited access or trespasser prosecution only make these building infiltrations more intriguing.

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Forgotten Heritage Exploring Europes Largest Deserted Places

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Aerial Urbex: 7 Difficult Deserted Places Filmed with Drones

17 Feb

[ By WebUrbanist in Travel & Urban Exploration. ]

drone footage abandoned deserted

Drones have changed the landscape of urban exploration and building infiltration, allowing their navigators access to toxic, irradiated, forbidden and structurally unsound places. These haunting videos illustrate how drones have been used to document inaccessible spaces and find amazing forgotten places.

St. Peter’s Seminary in Cardross, Scotland, is set to be restored thanks to millions in grants and donations, but for now it remains in a remarkably ruined state – crumbling, overgrown and vandalized.  The scenes shot for this film are amazing as they not only fly over and around the building by right through it, passing between levels missing both floors and ceilings that would otherwise be impossible to see in person.

underdrone

Underdrone combines upside-down footage from the “Lost Places Project,” a world tour including destinations within France, Argentina, Sicily, Greece and China using a DJI Ph2, H3-3D and GoPro3. The inverted perspective adds a layer of eerie vertigo to these spectacular and strange settings.

drone fair discoery

Drones can also provide the means to uncover new abandonments, discovering long-deserted places that have fallen from maps and have no landmarks pointing the way, as was the case with this abandoned Renaissance Faire. Locate in Fredericksburg, Virginia, it was found thanks to the use of a quadcopter and TBS Discovery with Naza GPS. The remote location is possible to reach, but thanks to ticks in the area may be best enjoyed remotely (or: via remote control).

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Aerial Urbex 7 Difficult Deserted Places Filmed With Drones

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Fished to Freedom: Deserted Mall Full of Fish to be Demolished

28 Jan

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned mall capture process

Though the circumstances of their liberation seem somewhat more political than practical, the thousands of fish set to be freed into the wild may not care much about the reasons for the positive change in venue either way.

abandoned mall fish floors

The ruins of the New World Mall in Bangkok, Thailand, were initially introduced by area vendors to a mixture of tilapia, carp and catfish after their roof collapsed, for indirectly obvious reasons: the stagnant water that subsequently collected in the void space had become breeding ground for mosquitoes.

abandoned mall gathering fish

The resulting informal fishery was fueled by tourists who came to see the strange site, which in turn captured the attention of the local government – as it turns out, abandoned buildings are not what most places want to be known for.

abandoned mall fish buckets

Presumably due to the high profile of the case, the fish are being treated with great care: caught in nets, they are being rounded by Bangkok Metropolitan Administration staff and sent to various lakes and streams around the region.

abandoned mall net species

abandoned mall working fishes

As to the structure itself: officials have called for its demolition and a court has ordered the corporation behind the failed structure (which never got proper permits) to pay for the draining, destruction and cleaning of the site. Update and images via CityLabs.

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Deserted Space: Photos Document NASA’s Abandoned Launch Pads

20 Nov

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

abandoned space graveyard photos

The race for space has shifted gears in recent years with the rise of private programs, leaving a series of amazing space-related graveyards around the United States, which this photographer has spent 25 years exploring and documenting.

abandoned nasa building sign

abandoned rocket room

abandoned flight ring rocket

In his upcoming book, Abandoned in Place, Roland Miller takes readers on a “photographic exploration of the American space launch and research facilities that played a crucial role in the early period of space exploration. The goals of this project are to preserve and portray these abandoned, deactivated, and repurposed sites through photography that surpasses the official government approach to documentation and to lend historical and artistic insight to the subject.”

abandoned secret nasa complex

abandoned space program complexes

abandoned space program facilities

With special permission (and an escort every time), Roland has managed to visit locations including the Marshall Space Flight Center in California, the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and the Kennedy Space Center as well as Cape Canaveral in Florida. His book features 100 full-color photos – the best and brightest of his extension decade-spanning collection.

abandoned nasa deserted spaces

abandoned nasa crane gantry

The photographs cover all kinds of incredible objects and details, from cranes and gantries to blast doors, flame deflector tracks, launch rings and even lunar modules. The book will be released by the University of New Mexico Press and contain poems and essays alongside its rich imagery.

abandoned control panel switchboard

Superstructure,Navaho Complex 9, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida1990

abandoned observatory dome exterior

This project is part guide book and part historical document – it “serves not only as a documentary body of work, but also as an artistic interpretation of these historic sites. The blockhouses, launch towers, tunnels, test stands, and control rooms featured in Abandoned In Place are rapidly giving way to the elements and demolition. By my estimates, fully half of the facilities I have photographed no longer exist. The costs involved in restoring, maintaining, and securing these sites are enormous. Most of these historic facilities are located on secure military or NASA facilities, which drastically limits access by the public. Therefore, photography is the only practical method to preserve and portray these historic locations.”

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