Abandoned places are brightened up, made even creepier and more atmospheric, or otherwise transformed into massive works of art with installations that use entire buildings as creative tools. Whether calling attention to blight in urban areas or making use of a structure before it’s demolished, these 12 (more!) abandoned building art projects make already-fascinating spaces even more of a visual delight.
Melting Facade
A curving brick facade gives an abandoned eyesore of a building a bit of a backwards facelift. With the new addition by artist Alex Chinneck, the abandoned building almost fits in with its neighbors – but not quite. As it slides down toward the street, it reveals the mess that remains on the top floor. The temporary installation turned an ugly building into a tourist attraction, calling attention to the need for restoration.
Deep North: Abandoned Cottage Frozen
A sad little shotgun cottage, filled with the former owner’s personal possessions, was left to rot, gaping holes in the walls letting in the elements. Artist Chris Larson spent a winter in sub zero temperatures pouring thousands of gallons of water onto the home to let the ice build up, and then created sculptures that are casts of actual shotgun blasts to honor the ‘shotgun house’ design of the cottage, in which all doorways and hallways are in one straight line.
Spider Web in Abandoned Stock Exchange Building
A spider worthy of J.R.R. Tolkein’s imagination seems to have taken up residence in an abandoned stock exchange building. This stunning project by Viennese/Croatian design collective For Use/Numen is made of nearly 100 pounds of packing tape and includes a tunnel that’s strong enough for people to crawl through.
Perspective Illusions by Georges Rousse
Master of perspective Georges Rousse creates incredible illusions in abandoned places that seem to cut out a geometric shape of the building and utterly transform it. Painted across various surfaces and angles, they look like random markings from most viewpoints, but stand in just the right spot and it all comes together.