One of the perks.... well maybe probably the only perk!... of my employment is that I get the chance to cruise all around the city in the dead of night to many weird and wonderful places and get into the real under belly of the beast. Now I am not suggesting for one minute that the junction of the Inner ring road and Moore Street /Eccleshall Road is the heart of the beast but it has always been home to one of Sheffield finest and somewhat overlooked Brutalist buildings .....which is now bathed in irridescent light...ladies and gents check out... The Moore Street Substation Okay Okay i took the pics on my mobile.... needs must ....no doubt I'll be back for more shortly Personally I think its fantastic that it has been illuminated - the buildings a star anyhow, like many Sheffield 1960s city centre monoliths its loved and loathed alike Like countless other folk for many years I was always intrigued by the building, particulary to the fact that there are no noticeable doors or windows, and no body has ever been seen around it or even trying to get in it! apart from pedestrians and Urbexers of course - on a humourous level I always likened it to Willy Wonkas Chocolate Factory and imagined Oompa Lompahs making magical bars of chocolate inside.....that thought was very short lived though as my mind rebooted to its default, sinister, cynical darkness, the structure then became the body recycling plant where surplus / dissidents civilians were turned into foodstuffs (like in the Orwellian film Solyent Green) Apparently the lights were turned on at the end of Sheffield DesignWeek at the end of October - a small crowd gathered in the subway intersection to watch the official "switch on" by the original architect Bryan Jefferson who was proud to comment "it is great that whilst I have friends whose buildings are being knocked down, mine are being floodlit - this is a very proud moment for me". I have to say that given Sheffields wealth of iconic 1960s Modernist buildings and also the historic celebration of them - this event should've been better advertised. i for one would've been there, its obviously been on the cards for a couple of years. Incidentally the bill for it is approx £47K which i have no problem with but I'm sure other nay sayers will.. Check out the links below for more info http://postcardcafe.wordpress.com/2010/01/20/moore-street-electricity-substation-and-other-concrete/
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