Power plants and glamour aren’t two things you’d normally put together in a sentence, but hey, I guess that’s what I’m here for. Just look at that thing– combining great hulking industrial power with the glamour, elegance and delicacy of art deco design!
We’re looking at the former control room of the Kelenföld Power Plant in Hungary, Budapest, a century-old facility that was once among the most advanced of its kind in the dawn of an electrical age. Captured in all its breathtaking glory by French urban photographer Romain Veillon, it’s just oozing with ‘science-fiction glamour’– yes, I’m making that a ‘thing’ now we know this place exists…
Now before we get all up in arms thinking, ‘how could such a beautiful place be left to rot?’, the Kelenföld Power Plant, which was officially shut down in 2005, isn’t technically abandoned. Under private ownership, the outdated section of the sprawling power plant which was expanded and modernised over the years, has not gone unrecognised as a masterpiece of early 20th century industrial design. The art deco control room and the old transformer houses are however, strictly closed to the public. Pretty much the only way of getting a look inside like our friend Romain Veillon, is by having some buddies in the local urban exploration initiatives that organise rare and selective guided tours once or twice a year.
If you’re an experienced urban explorer passing through Budapest and you want to give it a shot on your own, the address is Hengermalom 60, 1117 Budapest, Hungary. Alternatively, contacting this urban exploration initiative, known to organise tours there, would probably be a good bet (hoping that they respond in English).
Otherwise, I think Romain Veillon’s photographs do a pretty good awesome job of taking us there…
See more of his urban exploration work here.
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