So, from what I read, it's not that the bar can structure is special - it's more about the author's infatuation with. I resonate with that. I often find some structures (especially technical ones, occasionally - ruins) causing this kind of sensation. (Is there a word it?) Metal grid staircases, pipes often invoke it for me.
To some extend, I like these feelings also in some games (notably: Half Life, including Alyx and the remake Black Mesa).
Also - given current technology, both with both tech for scanning and creating models, and generative one - I would love to turn some real locations into "walking simulator games". As a side note, "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter" was based on a real location in Poland.
When I moved to London I used to love listening to ambient electronic music and taking the tube at night, and many of the quieter lines and back routes up emergency staircases and so on evoke what I suspect is a similar feeling (at least I think it's similar because it too reminds me of the HL aesthetic).
I wonder if growing up with particular kinds of video game experiences produces a particular affinity with certain situations in real life.
I think places like these take on totally different feelings for people who actually have to live or work with them (like the author) versus people who are just passing through. They're a lot less... romantic... when they're your daily life, but that by no means makes your connections weaker. Just different, in a way that's really hard to reify. At least for me.
I feel like I’ve had this feeling quite often. I’ll say it definitely happens in office buildings pre and post being hired.
The beer can feels a bit like stacks I’ve worked on. Connects everything together, is cheaply made, often requires Herculean effort to keep functional at ground level, has a utility elevator only for special things, and becomes an object of cult-like obsession by anyone who has to labor under its cover.
Could say that pretty much all of my projects have some kind of beer can or other.
Maybe this is a clue toward understanding my recent inexplicable obsession with shipping containers.
I wonder how much you would enjoy exploring old mountain bunkers. I bet there is a TON of that aesthetic. Might be worth a look to see if you can find any!