Orford Ness contains the remnants of its history as a military test ground and atomic weapons research establishment where purpose built facilities were created for testing the components of nuclear weapons. Known as the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE), many of these buildings are not on the visitor route and are therefore not accessible to the general public due to the remnants of test material and to their dilapidated state.

Special permission was sought from the National Trust to gain access to the exterior of these buildings for research purposes only. Initially taken as research photographs, halved sections were paired together, with the central 'split' in the image emphasising the broken-down nature of these buildings. In addition, a special guided tour was given by the National Trust warden of the interior of one of the buildings shown in the latter sequence of images.