Capita Symonds, Gatwick North Terminal Extension

As the Olympics draw closer, Britain moves one step nearer to delivering participants and spectators there on time. Capita Symonds have recently completed the complex extension of Gatwick’s North Terminal, the busiest single runway airport in the world. The upgrade involves a new state of the art passenger and transport interchange, Departures and Arrivals concourse extension and new multi storey car park. The extension costing £150+m, will increase the passenger capacity by 10 million.

Hundven-Clements Photography have been onsite to document this monumental structure in the depths of winter. The weather was not our side during the day so the interior was where we begun, later on in the day we were blessed with 20 mins of colour as the sun set. With a multi layered approach to design by Capita, a swift transition between shuttle transport and the departure halls has been created. The dramatic roof generates a pleasant feeling of openness allowing natural light to illuminate the platforms during the daytime.

Photographing operational public structures on this scale comes with an array of logistical and photographic challenges. The first being access, understandably Gatwick has high security regulations in place, so an interview to obtain a permit to photograph was essential. Once onsite we found the general public to be surprisingly accommodating with appearing in photos, I guess the prospect of two weeks in Mauritus away from a British winter helped! Let us know what you think of the new development.

 

 

Landscape Architecture

At Hundven-Clements Photography we relish challenges. So when Link Landskap Arkitektur, based in Oslo, decided to conduct a study of their recently completed landscape projects we were more than happy to help. Landscape architecture has not directly played a prominent role in our core business previously and therefore had to be approached with extra care.

The primary challenge is that projects are often literally the walkways, steps, greenery or our cities infrastructure. So finding the right light to describe the projects was critical. Whilst a range of contemporary day time images focusing on human interaction formed the core of the documentation (which can be viewed here : Landscape Architecture Portfolio), the client was very excited by the more alternative night shots. Here is a small selection. Please let us know what you think.

Eger Shopping Centre, Karl Johan Gate, Oslo

This is Norways most prestigious high end retail shopping centre. Based in the centre of Oslo between the central station and the palace on Karl Johan’s Street it sits in a prime location. The renovation and joining of multiple adjacent buildings was Link Arkitekter’s largest challenge. The complex interior space is set across three floors, cleaverly connected by a collection of ramps, walkways and stairs.

London Metropolitan University Renovations

Cartwright Pickard Architects have taken a complex structure in the form of London’s famous Metropolitan University and converted it in to a pure colour experience. The buildings from the 70’s were exhibiting such worn and depressing institutional designs that students have even left because of it. During my documentation of the recently opened renovation one of the lecturers explained that international students specifically from the US were so shocked by the pre-renervation conditions (akin to a mental institute) that they have been known to leave.

Now Peter Cartwright and James Pickard have delivered a stimulating renovation that plays upon the existing architectural features whilst maintaining a very tight expenditure programme.The dramatic use of primary colours and cost effective, textured surfaces has delivered a new energy avoiding the costly expenses of rebuilding.

As government budgets bite hard in the education sector, I think we will be seeing a lot more renovations in the future, let’s hope they’re all as inspiring as this one.

Lombard Street Offices

The historic offices of 6 Lombard Street stand in the heart of London City on top of Bank Underground Station. This dramatic setting is located next to the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England. Pringle Richards Sharratt Architects have been involved with many of the ongoing developments at this site for years. Providing multi functioning office environments that can be tailor designed when a company moves has been PRS main challenge.

The exterior received a face lift with some dramatic detailing on the lighting which automatically turns on just after night fall for a limited period to conserve energy. The ornate Georgian features have been emphasized while achieving a contemporary elegance.

Contemporary Cinema Design.

This is the latest completed project from the Norwegian design firm Fuggi Baggi. Using experimental lighting and structural techniques they have produced a stunning space that can be adapted for multiple purposes. At Bergen Kino the ceiling consists of drilled aluminum plating pre pressed in to a series of wave like structures. Independently controllable RGB lights have then been fitted, being RGB any desired colour can be created and even low resolution graphics can be displayed using the lights. The cinema resides in an old theatre which used to be double the height of the existing space.

I found the whole experience of photographing the space surprisingly relaxing. With long exposures of up to 5 minutes I really had time to appreciate the subtle nuances of colour and spatial design in the auditorium. Whilst tempted to enjoy a film in the space I decided ‘Bob The Builder’ was probably not the most productive use of my time! The rest of the Bergen Kino complex is due to be renovated over the next 3-4 years.

Clash Architects, Sleeperz Hotel, Cardiff

All photography by Daniel Clements, published in Building Design, June 09

Frank Gehry Architect, Cinémathèque Française, Paris, France.

PARIS: For the better part of a decade, this city’s only Frank Gehry building has been standing abandoned, a sad monument to a failed American dream.It was planned as a new headquarters for the American Center of Paris, which was founded in 1931 and had long drawn crowds to its rambling Left Bank home as a place to discover American culture and to learn English.

But the dream of a dazzling image went sour. The new center opened in June 1994 – and closed just 19 months later.

Bad planning was one culprit. The new center absorbed almost all the £21 million raised by the sale of the old center on the Boulevard Raspail, leaving little to cover its running costs. With a minimal endowment, dwindling private donations and no U.S. government support, the organization was forced to put Gehry’s neo-Classical-style and Cubist creation up for sale.

Now, thanks to the French government, the building has begun a new life, this time as the headquarters of the Cinémathèque Française, the legendary film center that was the cradle of the New Wave movies of the 1950s and ’60s. To make this happen, the government chipped in about £11 million for the building and spent £20 million on adapting its interior.

Extensive alteration was necessary. Originally designed around exhibition spaces, artists’ studios and a state-of-the-art theater, it now has to accommodate four new movie theaters of different sizes and France’s film library. But the original atrium has survived, and two floors are still reserved for exhibitions, while its distinct exterior remains unchanged.

What makes this transformation unusual is that it was not carried out by Gehry, although he did participate in the selection of Dominique Brard of l’Atelier de l’île as the project’s architect. “It’s unique for someone else to rework a contemporary building designed by a living architect,” Brard told Libération, the Paris daily. “Above all, Gehry!”

Article by Alan Riding, International Herald Tribune.