At the dawn of the electrical old age , power plant were more than just useful construction . They were tremendous , soaring temples to a near - wizard substance that was changing the world . Most of these buildings are now abandoned or demolish . But I recently chitchat one of the few that remain : the 99 - year - old Kelenföld Power Plant , one of most aeriform and electrifyingly beautiful places on earth .
I ’ve been a longtime sports fan of the esthetic of industrialism . Call me a deviate , but I can admire the complexness of any manufacturing plant or business leader plant for hours , charmed by the hidden smasher of applied science , technology , and applied science . I have been to several twelve industrial facilities so far , and no matter if they ’re previous or new , operational or abandoned , generator station or brewery plant — I enjoyed every moment inside of them .
Ifirstvisited the now deserted and decaying , century - old building of the Kelenföld Power Plant ( Hengermalom 60 , 1117 Budapest , Hungary ) in 2007 , two years after they were shut down . And a few days ago , thanks to historianBalázs Maczóand his urban geographic expedition initiative calledMiénk A Ház , I was lucky to get inside the straggle facility again .
When Kelenföld Power Plant started generating electrical energy in 1914 , it was one of the most advanced plant of its day — though it was modernized and flourish several time since then to serve the changing vigor demand of the surrounding districts .
The out-of-date surgical incision of the powerfulness plant , which is showcased below , is n’t completely abandoned since it ’s in private ownership these solar day . But the two main attractions — the legendary ascendance room and the onetime transformer house — are close up to the world , despite the fact that both are considered masterpieces of early twentieth century industrial intent . you may only visit them during one of the rarefied guided tours organise by enthusiastic non - governmental organization , only a few time a year .
The buildings , design and build by Kálmán Reichl and Virgil Borbíró ( Bierbauer ) between 1927 and 1929 , are protected by law , which intend they ’ll never be crush . Sadly , in this casing this means that they are n’t being touch at all , even for canonical alimony , so their consideration has intelligibly aggravate during the past few years . Only production companies benefit from this sort of perpetual disintegration : Several apocalyptical movie scenes and music videos have been filmed at Kelenföld .
The nobleness of former industrial construction like this one shine the optimism of the early 20th C — and even a bit of the 21st . Today , the brutally beautiful machinery , haunting hallway and silent chambers seem to recall with the buzz of the now - silent Bauhaus - earned run average transformation mansion . From the sensational Art Deco shabu ceiling of the ascendancy elbow room , to the intricate switch , knobs , and gauge , to the gorgeous coil emf : These spaces organize a shrine to electricity , speculate a visual sensation direct out of Jules Verne ’s fantasy world .
( tap “ expand ” to see the photograph in full size . )
Photos by Attila Nagy / Gizmodo
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