Paul Tierney, specialist Architecture, Art & Design Photographer.
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Photographing houses, houses for photographers
The Shortlist for the sterling prize was recently released. The list has a diversity of projects from a University campus to Hastings pier to the British Museum Conservation and Exhibitions centre. One project that I thought was interesting was the RIBA London Award 2017 and RIBA London Building of the Year 2017 Award which went to the photography studio and house for Juergen Teller by 6a architects.
The architects describe the project as “The project expertly exploits a typically London condition. Constrained by a long and narrow industrial plot at the rougher edge of Ladbroke Grove; its only face nestles between cheap developer housing, an industrial estate and the hinterland of the Westway.”
This poises a question, what should a house for a photographer look like. Or should a photographers house reflect their equipment, their culture , their influence.
From the photographs shown the project seems blank out the context. The project forms two courtyards that protect the studios from the outside. Is there a metaphor of some sort in the planning. It seems that the main accommodation is like a gatehouse over the entrance to the studio. So in this model of housing? The work is placed at the figurative and literal centre of the plan. Is this a message to the world? from Teller. Maybe! To celebrate the completion Juergen presented a self portrait in the space! The man at work!
Recent winners of the sterling prize such as David Chipperfield could inform this view. Chipperfield won the prize in 2007 for The Museum of Modern Literature in Marbach am Neckar, Germany. His private house in Richmond for Nick Knight in 1998-2001 is an essay in cool articulation of a suburban dwelling. It masks the original form of the house build by Knights father. The impression created is distant from the flamboyant anarchy of Knights photography. The connection between what knight creates at www.showstudio.com and his house seem distant.
One aspect of the house that appeals to me is the concession to the clients profession in the use of a “framing portal” .The portal connects elements of the architectural composition together. It also “frames” a view of the garden from the interiors. The frame acknowledges what the photographer does without making a literal translation of a camera.
In both projects the aesthetics are quite similar; In situ concrete, plaster, block-work , a subdued palette of tones, rigid geometry. The outcomes are quite different. Tellers house, places him a “hero” with his work at the centre of the world. Nick Knights house seems more to be a refuge from which to view the world.
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Student Housing
Student housing continues to expand as a building type in the city. In this gallery there are examples housing in Roebuck Student housing Belfield. The current gallery shows examples of the digihub student housing off Thomas street also. Designed by O’Mahony Pike and built by Bennett construction the project looks like a prototype for much of the new student accommodation in the city. New projects are being built on Dorset street ( H.J. Lyons Architects) and there are huge developments in the Blackpitts / Tenters area of the city. A welcome factor is that many of the projects are being developed on sites that lay idle for many years. The Dublin Inquirer provide this assessment of the new landscape of student housing.
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Architectural Interior photography In Dublin
Some recent Architectural Photography featured in the Sunday Times Magazine in May. The project was for Gottstein Architects showing a recent refurbishment and renovation of the project in south Dublin. The link to the article :Sunday Times Article
Feature on Gottstein Architects Sunday Times May 2017
Hooper Palmerstown
Palmerstown Veterinary Clinic evocative of an Edward Hooper Painting. A bit of diversion from the usual architectural image.
Edward Hooper evocation palmerstown veterinary hospital
Shooting Space: Architecture in Contemporary Photography Elia Redstone
Shooting Space is an anthology that examines the relationship between photographers and architecture. The book is divided into five parts that presents a vary of approach’s to the subject. The first chapter is prefaced by Julius Schulman quote:
“ I sell architecture better and more directly and more vividly than the architect does” .
This sets the tone for much of the book. It also highlights the problem of how architecture is represented. The images from this chapter avoid the conventions of blues skies, vertical lines , perfect context etc. Of interest are images by Iwan Bann and Michele Nastasi.The book is representative of the global architecture covering Asia, Europe, The Americas and Middle East. Africa is not represented extensively. Work by Mikhael Subotzky & Patrick Waterhouse on Ponte city could have address this imbalance. The book Ponte city was published in 2014 however most of the photographers were from 2008 onwards.
Michael Wolf , Thomas Struth and Nuno Cera feature in the “Cityscapes of change” chapter. The project “Architecture of Density” by Michael Wolf showcases the density of development in Hong Kong. Thomas Struth documents cities in his “Unconscious Places” project. The series seeks to encapsulate the sense of a place in a single image. Nuno Ceras’ images investigate the physical and metaphorical nature of space. The images present layers images of reflections from high rise hotel rooms. Sze Tsung Leong visual documentation of China are very compelling also.
Man-altered Landscapes catalogues work by Peter Bialobrzeski , Nadav Kander, and Armin Linke amongst others. The project “Architecture of Authority “ by Richard Ross is also featured. The images is “explore the nature of institutionalized space” and present an architecture that shows the “failure of moderation, politics….humanity”.
The strongest parts of the book show photographers working in a documentary tradition. The chapters on conceptual photography speak less about “Shooting space” and are more concerned with creating new visual spaces. Typically, the images are made by digital manipulation of some sort. Overall the book presents a good anthology of photographers and their approach to photographing the city.
http://uk.phaidon.com/store/architecture/shooting-space-9780714867427/
Iwan Bann http://iwan.com/iwan_index.php
Michele Nastasi http://www.michelenastasi.com/
Micheal Wolf http://photomichaelwolf.com/#architecture-of-density-2/1
Thomas Struth http://www.thomasstruth32.com/bigsize/index.html
Nuno Cera http://www.nunocera.com/
Sze Tsung Leong http://www.szetsungleong.com/
Nadav Kander http://www.nadavkander.com/
Armin Linke http://www.arminlinke.com/
Peter Bialobreski http://www.bialobrzeski.de/work/paradise_now/ParadiseNow-18.html
Richard Ross http://richardross.net/
Mikhael Subotzky & Patrick Waterhouse http://www.subotzkystudio.com/
