Gallery: 15 Epic Photos of Buildings You'll Never Be Allowed to Enter
Matt Emmett01Control
Matt Emmett is a prolific urbex ("urban explorer") photographer, working in Europe. He shoots locations that are off limits to the public, like this control room panel from a long-abandoned power plant in Belgium.
Matt Emmett02Cooling Tower
The upper platform of an old cooling tower in Belgium.
Matt Emmett03Vastness
The interior view of another cooling tower in Belgium.
Matt Emmett04Industrial Symmetry
The guts of an abandoned power station in Luxembourg.
Matt Emmett05Control Desk
The buttons and knobs on this vintage control desk were found in a building used for testing gas turbine naval engines.
Matt Emmett06Condensing Pond
A view of the condensing pond, in one of the Belgian cooling towers.
Matt Emmett07Abandoned farm Kitchen
Not all of Emmett's photographs are of industrial sites. In fact, he says the interior shots—like this one of an abandoned farm kitchen in the Luxembourg countryside—tend to be more popular.
Matt Emmett08Historic Trading House
A historic trading house in Belgium.
Matt Emmett09Jet Engine Test Cell
Inside the National Gas Turbine Establishment in the UK, where early jet aircraft engines were designed and tested.
Matt Emmett10Majesty
An old university in the UK.
Matt Emmett11Radome
This geodesic radar dome in the Belgian countryside was once a military listening post.
Matt Emmett12Recurrence
This old Belgian school is one of several sites that no longer exists. This is one reason why Emmett says he photographs for posterity: to create a historical record of buildings and sites that have been or will someday be demolished.
Matt Emmett13Victorian Cistern
An underground reservoir in London.
Matt Emmett14Welcome to the Machine
A jet nozzle and pressure bulkhead in one of the test cells at the National Gas Turbine Establishment. Emmett says this is where engines were "flown" under simulated supersonic speeds and altitude conditions.
Matt Emmett15Winch Hook
A view of a Victorian-era sewage pump house in east London.
