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.

 

 

Marzorati Ronchetti Metal Sculptures

Marzorati Ronchetti is no ordinary metal manufacturer. They produce some of the most elegant refined structures with every type of metal imaginable for the worlds greatest designers. MR concentrate on the high end design market for architects like Norman Foster and notable artists like Anish Kapoor. With the engineering and design capabilities to manufacture unusual solutions tailored for specific environments a diverse range of products are the result.

With the up and coming birthday of the company MR commissioned Hundven-Clements Photography to document a range of their London successes, here are the results.

 

Blackwall Way Development, London

Photographed for Domus Facades the company responsible for the exterior cladding. An intimate photographic study exploring the interplay between light and the cladded surfaces was produced.

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.

External and Internal Cladding

Here is a selection of images taken for Domus Facades to illustrate the application of their cladding solutions. They have a diverse range of high quality stone surfaces among others. I visited Bolton on a cold wintery day to capture some images of the recently completed College.

Domus Facades solutions are not only suitable for exteriors the range is well suited to luxury interiors with design and quality a high priority. This is the interior of Carmelite Street, London, where Progressive Media Publishing of Blueprint Magazine and New Statesman fame are based. A very minimal, simply designed reception creates a feeling of peace and calm while MP’s wait for a probing interview!

 

Greenwich Peninsula, London

The Greenwich Peninsula has been at the centre of intense political debate over the years. Excessive expenditure, un-realistic expectations and plagued by financial problems the new vision of a ‘Thames Gateway’ has not been as forth coming as many hoped. After the internal redesign and brand rebirth of the Millennium Dome into the O2 Arena it has begun to draw substantially more visitors. The Dome architecturally designed by Richard Rogers and structurally engineered by Buro Happold has finally begun to engender a thriving local community.   The masterplan for the peninsula incorporates a 5 million square feet development, including 20 hectares of parkland and open space, 10,000 new homes, and 2.5 kilometres of riverside walkway.

On a bleak winters day in February the peninsula still has a long way to go before it reaches the desirability scale for work and living that some attempt to portray. I however returned when that magical orb so rarely seen in London, the sun, transformed the location into a refined segment of contemporary urban design.

Sir Terry Farrell & Partners have created a practical structure that makes up with energy efficiency what it perhaps lacks in colour coordination! The structure stands as one of the most energy efficient commercial buildings in the UK with a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating of over 76%. What’s your verdict?

The Pinnacle, London, UK

London’s skyline still lacks the drama of a great metropolis…but this is changing.

For many year’s the nature of London’s skyline has been tightly controlled to it’s detriment in my opinion. Gazing in owe out across cities like New York, Chicago and Tokyo one wonders why London lacks this architectural extravagance. The Pinnacle at 22-24 Bishopsgate, London, will be the tallest tower in the city at a total height of 304.90m when completed in 2012 and plans to rectify this. The site is currently under going extensive geotechnic preparations overseen by Ove Arup & Partners Ltd. The foundations will contain the largest piles in the city, being bored down to a depth of 48.5 metres below sea level, or 65.5 metres below the ground level of the site.

The architects Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates have designed a fascinating structure that will hopefully add a new positive energy to London’s skyline and I relish the opportunity to sit on Parliament Hill looking out across a city brave enough to take risks.

The Pinnacle, Copyright Cityscape Digital Ltd

The Pinnacle, Copyright City Scape Digital Ltd

3D Renderings by Cityscape Digital Ltd

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Lord Snowdon Aviary, Regents Park, London Zoo, 2009.