“The magic of architecture cannot be appropriated by any singular
operation because it is always already floating, progressing, rising,
flying, breathing. Whatever the problems - political, tectonic, linguistic
which architecture exposes, one thing I know is that only the intensity
and passion of its call make it fun to engage in its practice.”
Daniel Libeskind
The regeneration of the once derelict Salford Docks emphasises the
economic growth and social development of an area which is
historically associated with war, shipping and social deprivation. As
part of a major £350M docklands redevelopment which started in the
1980's The Lowry Project includes The Lowry, a retail complex, an open
air performance space at The Plaza, the Digital World Centre and a
lifting footbridge across the Manchester Ship Canal. The footbridge
gives access to the Lancashire Cricket Club, Manchester United
Football Ground and The Imperial War Museum North (IWMN).
The Lowry and IWMN are revolutionary works of architectural art.
They are so dynamic that they have a unique sense of place and stand
prominently on opposite sides of the Manchester Ship Canal.
As architecture reflects the urban environment and society, nature and
landscape, these two buildings are both perfectly located and
constructed with glass and metal casings to reflect the landscapes
around
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them. The work of architects Michael Wilford and Daniel
Libeskind elaborate the rich cultural history of the use of diverse metals
and evoke images behind their creations.
With a design encapsulating the message it brings the Imperial
War Museum North is the first building in the UK by Studio Daniel
Libeskind Berlin. Focusing on how society is impacted by war and
conflict throughout the 20th and 21st Century, war memorabilia is
sheltered in a fragmented facade of exposed steel work forcing us to think about our
own mortality. The main exhibition for summer 2004, The Greater Game - Sport, War
and Peace explores sport in wartime with the use of ‘personal stories and iconic
images.’
Libeskind sets out to awaken mixed emotions within us and as we walk through the
Museum, he inspires, educates and strikes us with the realisation of the stark effects of
war. The shape and external construction shows Libeskind’s visionary interpretation of the world as a broken
globe caused by man’s self-destruction.
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With a design inspired by ships and bold colours that make us want to explore, The Lowry is the catalyst of
the regeneration of a once forgotten wasteland and was designed by Architect Michael Wilford & Partners. Exhibiting the
work of LS Lowry and other modern artists, Wilford succeeded in creating an award winning building “with an air of
theatricity and festivity.”
Architectural photographers produce creative images of space and structure which allow us to come closer to an often far
away world. While architecture is the social documentation of the built environment, photography is a further
interpretation of this. The work of these specialised photographers has the power to
narrate many an untold tale of what is both structurally important and aesthetically
beautiful.
Architectural photography is a discipline in its own right. The artists seem to be an
undervalued species that do not get the recognition they deserve so I have drawn
attention to three craftsmen in order to find out what sets them as far apart as the very
structures that inspire them.
With an ‘accidental’ move into a photographic career that has spanned three
decades, Richard Bryant is the only photographer to be awarded an Honorary
Fellowship by RIBA and is probably Britain’s finest architectural photographer of the
present day.
A Midlands man, Richard studied architecture in Kingston and has remained there
ever since, setting up Arcaid Picture Library which holds an international collection of
architectural photography and ‘sense of place,’ with his wife Lynne in the early 1980's.
Architecture has always been a key feature in what Richard does and he says it is
all part of having a “natural feeling for space and form.” As a student of Kingston
University in the 1970's, his final thesis was to photograph Palladian Villas (evident of
Renaissance architecture) in southern Italy for several months. His childhood interest in
photography was to develop in early adulthood, making right what seemed like the
natural progression from practising architecture.
After the establishment of Arcaid, Lynne started to collect the work of other
architectural photographers but most famously was the acquisition of top photographer
of the 1960's and 1970's Richard Einzig. Lucinda Lambton who photographs
buildings of historical interest and Mark Fiennes are also part of the Arcaid group.
Arcaid are also working with a new generation of talented photographers.
Richard started to photograph the work of top British Architect Sir James Stirling in
the 1980's and continued to be commissioned by his partner Michael Wilford after
Stirling’s untimely death in the next decade. Photographing The Lowry was a great
opportunity, especially because of the northern weather which Richard says: “Created
a beautiful light which is the key thing of course, but the weather is definitely one of
the biggest challenges I face.”
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On first entering The Lowry in 2002, Bryant was captivated by the use of powerful
colours which autographs Wilford’s dynamic style and the materials used are quite
beautifully finished by being both dramatic and strong. Richard’s abstract images can
only emphasise this.
Most of his projects are commissioned by top architects, designers and magazines
but at times, work is produced simply through the “labour of love.”
He photographs the finished works of his other clients including Lord Foster, Virgin,
Georgio Armani and Richard Meier.
As buildings are so different, Bryant has difficulty in selecting a favourite but Frank
O'Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, the Auditorium in Rome (Renzo
Piano), Sir John Soane’s Museum in London, and the Canova Museum by Carlo
Scarpa in Possagno Italy spring quickly to mind.
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Favouring the modernist tradition Richard says: ”I don’t set out with the intention of
capturing beauty in my compositions but try to communicate a certain feeling for space.
“The joy of being a photographer is to take an image of something that pleases me.”
With the ability to communicate so well visually, Bryant’s portraits are able to capture
the structural essence of the buildings . He concludes: “If as a photographer you are unable to
interpret the 3- dimensional image of space then you will not be able to inspire.”
Manchester based writer and photographer Aidan O’Rourke captures
interesting images for his own personal collection. He believes the use of people in
his work only diverts our attention away from the aesthetic beauty of powerful
structures.
A strong believer in the built environment, Aidan would like to see his work viewed
as one large mosaic which will have archival value in the future. He hopes that
through his work people will want to look up, be informed and be inspired by what
they see.
Originally from Stockport, Aidan’s early interest in photography developed after
his father taught him how to use a camera. He then went on to win a Kodak
Instamatic which he still has, after entering a poster competition but didn’t have the
opportunity to take this practise further until he went to teach English in the United
Arab Emirates from 1992-1996. There he was able to devote time and money to
the hobby which became his profession.
Coming from a big city, Aidan sees photographing buildings as a great social
importance. Whether it is an old bank or a modern arts building, they all hold equal
value.
”I appreciate buildings that speak of the age in which they were constructed due
to its historical aspect and the tales they tell,” he says, adding: “If looking closely, we
can discover details on buildings which have come to others from another age that
have been forgotten.”
Speaking highly of the imagination and diversity of modern architecture like
Manchester’s Urbis, the eccentricity of The Lowry and the futuristic impact that is the
Imperial War Museum North, Aidan feels these make fantastic additions to Greater
Manchester’s architecture. They also go against the well behaved, conformist and
reproduced English ways of building. Unbiased in his preferred style though, he also
credits Neo-Classical and Victorian architecture as those structures which also offer a
form of escapism.
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He states: “Architecture is art on a grand scale and my images emphasise the
urban environment and all we see - buildings, traffic, buses and people.
“Composition is very important as it helps to make a picture which is both pleasing
to the eye and captures the moment as it is.”
He adds: “I try to take the raw material of what is in front of us and by using
different camera angles, try and bring out the best of what is there.”
By photographing objects at street level, what matters to Aidan is what a new
building means to him, how it changes the shape of the street and how other people
react to it. His photographs and way of working are reminiscent of Czech
photographer Josef Sudek, working unassisted in the air of the city he loves so much.
Aidan’s main driving force (apart from his wife and young daughter) is having the
opportunity to travel. After studying languages in Dublin, living for a year in Berlin,
spending a youthful summer in New York, and later spending five years working in
the Middle East - there is nothing quite like the Burj Al Arab Hotel which he feels has
the most beautiful form, with a sail that represents everything he likes about modern
structure - he realises that comparing differences in built environments is as important
as living in them.
Aidan likes to revisit places of great interest to him. His portfolio
website renamed www.imagesofcities.com
(also accessible via www.aidan.co.uk) focuses on nine cities and the surrounding region -
Manchester, Dubai, Liverpool, Berlin, Dublin, Manila, Glasgow, London and New
York, all of which he has lived in or has some connection or affinity with. He likes
taking pictures of the non-conventionally photogenic (as in the case of some parts of
Manchester) but if the opportunity arose, he would equally like to photograph the Taj
Mahal as the biggest challenge he would face is creating an image that is truly
unique.
Following his childhood passion in producing still images, northern digital
photographer Paul White established his Ossett based company in 1980.
Married for 27 years, he lives with his wife, one dog, two cats and three chickens.
After leaving grammar school in Wakefield, Paul trained as a surveyor for five
years, a period which was to influence his change in career as it was from here that
he started to photograph buildings. A career which his father, a medical professional
advised Paul against and insisted he “get a proper job.”
The move away from surveying was also decided as Paul thought it was quite a
stifling and restrained industry. However, this does not change the passion he has for
great building design and he wishes that more people would learn to observe the
constructed world around them.
Paul has always noticed the architectural world around him which he enjoys
documenting for himself and comments: “Cities like Glasgow, Manchester and Leeds
have the most stunning architecture. I photographed Salford Quays in its earlier days
and it is quite amazing to see the changes.”
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Fascinated by the scale in which cathedrals are built, Paul says: “Architecture is
something that really inspires me to take pictures. Photographing Wakefield
Cathedral two years ago gave me the most enjoyable two days.”
So much so that he describes the intricacy of 13th century graffiti printed
underneath the choir seats. It is assumed these were drawn by the workers who
constructed it over the five year period as a way of entertaining themselves. Speaking
in generic terms, the scale of the these gothic structures, how they were built and how
they were ‘put together’ with the technology of the time is what Paul finds truly
astounding.
Paul says: “I love the early morning light and the dawn which reflects off such
beautiful buildings, it sends a tingle down my spine” emphasising that if this does not
happen when practising photography, then there is no point.
There is no part of England that hasn’t been visited by White. As his profession
has taken him far and wide he has reached the conclusion that he does prefer the
north. His work has also taken him to the north of Europe, to countries which include
Germany, France and Holland.
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Since his career started in 1977, Paul has won national awards in the British
Institute of Professional Photography for architecture. Sounding like a man driven by
his passion, Paul is influenced by the work of his clients which include Willmott Dixon,
Balfour Beatty and Leeds company GLI. He also photographs the work of Carey
Jones in Leeds, Wildblood Macdonald and commercial paving company Marshalls
of Halifax.
Paul believes that all photographers have two sides and elaborates this by
mentioning his non-commissioned portraits of landscapes, the Scottish Highlands in
particular which is where he says his mother was from.
“It offers a nice relief from architecture” he says. |
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