![]() Experienced explorers are very cautious inside active utility tunnels since pipes can spew boiling hot water or steam from leaky valves or pressure relief blow-offs. Most active steam tunnels do not contain airborne asbestos, but proper breathing protection may be required for other respiratory hazards. Most steam tunnels have large intake fans to bring in the fresh air and push the hot air out the back, and these may start without warning. Others have concrete floors, bright light, and more moderate temperatures. Some steam tunnels have dirt floors, poor lighting and temperatures above 45 ☌ (113 ☏). This practice was once called "vadding" at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, but students there now call it roof and tunnel hacking. Nevertheless, many of these steam tunnels, especially those on college campuses, have a tradition of exploration by students. These pipes are generally run through utility tunnels, which are often intended to be accessible solely for the purposes of maintenance. Universities, and other large institutions, such as hospitals, often distribute hazardous superheated steam for heating or cooling buildings from a central heating plant. Utility tunnel in the center of Zurich, Switzerland Ībandoned sites are also popular among historians, preservationists, architects, archaeologists, industrial archaeologists, and ghost hunters. Many explorers find the decay of uninhabited space profoundly beautiful, and some are also proficient freelance photographers who document what they see, such as those who document the infrastructure of the former USSR. Nowadays, it's popular for urban exploration, although it is risky due to the possibility of anti-personnel landmines being located in unexplored areas, remnants from 1990's Bosnian War. It was designed and built to sustain a direct hit from a 20- kiloton nuclear bomb, equivalent to that dropped on Nagasaki. It also housed a mess hall that could feed 1,000 people simultaneously, along with spaces for storing food, fuel and arms sufficient to last 30 days. capable in housing two full fighter squadrons, one reconnaissance squadron, and associated maintenance facilities, including an underground water source, power generators, crew quarters, and other strategic military facilities. The complex contains tunnels in total length of 3.5 km (2.2 mi), and the bunker with four entrances protected by 100-ton pressurized doors, three of which were customized for use by fixed-wing aircraft. It was the largest underground airport and military air base in the SFR Yugoslavia, and one of the largest in Europe. But what is it about seeing London from often dangerous viewpoints that can be so inspiring? “For different people, it’s different reasons but the biggest one is simply that they are extremely beautiful and striking and carry a very powerful aesthetic experience,” says Barnabas Calder, an architecture historian from the University of Liverpool and author of the book Raw Concrete: The Beauty of Brutalism.In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a large underground facility abandoned since 1992 is Željava Air Base, situated under the Plješevica mountain, near the city of Bihać. Johnny loved urban exploration despite the risks. ![]() Johnny's friends hope to one day show his photos in an exhibition. “He was the king of the blocks,” he says. He would answer and listen to his friend enthuse about cycling to east London to “check out a new spot.” Sometimes, though, it was a struggle for Roman to keep up with Johnny. It wouldn’t be unusual for Roman’s phone to ring at 2 AM and for it to be Johnny’s number. “Maybe not 24/7 but 23/6, he was out there. “Johnny loved seeing the world from up there,” Roman says. The "hat" Johnny described on the top of the Golden Lane housing estate. The hashtag “urbex” now has over 7.5 million entries on Instagram. Viral videos of urban climbers like Vadim Makhorov and Vitaliy Raskalov, who run the YouTube channel On The Roofs, have also brought the activity to the mainstream. Ally Law has earned over 3 million subscribers on Youtube with his urbex videos, and once broke into the Big Brother house. London-based urban explorer Harry Gallagher, also known as has more than 240k followers on Instagram and posts shots from the sides of buildings and inside tunnels. ![]() ![]() Many “explorers” take photos of the views they encounter, often sharing on social media. It could be the top of a block of flats, an abandoned building site or in the case of Bradley L Garrett, who scaled the Shard in 2012 and brought the often nocturnal activity into the spotlight, one of its most iconic skyscrapers. Urban exploration, also referred to as “urbex”, is the practice of entering or climbing a city’s uncharted buildings.
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