I've been m.i.a. a bit from this blog for a few reasons, the most pertinent one being that my underground explorations have been on hold for many, many months. While I am more than content to plunge through countless pages on the Internet to learn more of underground space developments worldwide and gawk at the varied manifestations of underground architectural imagery, I'm just not satisfied to merely post the slew of images I view. I am keen on seeing them in person, photographing the spaces myself, chatting, when possible, with the individuals who use them on a fairly regular basis.
Alas, I currently live in a region where underground space is simply not a popular commodity, nor where you will find interesting examples of it's use. When life and movement permit me to be in close range to explore these spaces again, I will be ready, camera aimed.
Until then, I just may dedicate a batch of posts to some of the weirder goings on with regards to underground space, namely, the dissemination of information that is, well, plainly weird. When this interest first took hold, I took to the nets to see what was out there and initially only came across a bevy of writings and references to literary works that were fiction? Fact? Who knows. The underground itself immediately connotes a general space that is immediately laden with notions of secrecy, hiding, death, captivity and- survival. The allegories are rich and seemingly endless- much like an impossible labyrinth. I will get to these later.
For now, an image of a space I would like to visit, but obviously chances are slim. NORAD's control room. Tucked deep inside a mountainous terrain, it is, without a doubt, a premier example of the reality of the military's (read: the military of many nations) necessary use of deep underground space, perhaps placing them at the frontier of underground building technology and perhaps even at the forefront of understanding human psychology and capacity to sustain for long periods of time in such space.
