Architecture
Although I prefer the natural world, the built environment has a fascinating variety of shapes, textures, colours and functions to capture. With so many fine buildings on my doorstep, it would be churlish not to indulge in a bit of architectural photography...
The Olympic Park
From left to right: 1. The Velodrome viewed from the south; 2. & 3. Inside the Velodrome; 4. The V&A & College of Fashion Buildings; 5. The Velodrome viewed from the south-west; 6. The Velodrome walk way 7. Sadler's Wells East; 8. External wall of the Velodrome
From left to right: 1. Velodrome fisheye view; 2. V&A Building; 3. Manhattan Loft Gardens; 4. Aquatic Centre
The Barbican
The Barbican is quite simply one of the finest projects ever conceived and executed in London. It is loved, loathed and misunderstood in equal measure - is it 'properly' brutalist (this is apparently not a binary concept!)? Should it be viewed as a single project or a portfolio of styles or a single strategy with distinct elements? How could something so 'different' have been delivered by that most staid of institutions, the City of London? Would anyone attempt as ambitious a scheme in today's world? That is perhaps the easiest to answer - almost certainly not. It ran horribly over budget and programme, but in a way that the guardians of HS2 might recognise.
From top left to right: 1. Reflections on Silk Street; 2. Shakespeare tower; 3. The Andrewes block; 4. The Frobisher Crescent; 5. Looking down into the Basement, Arts Centre 6. Arts Centre walk way 7. Staircases in the Arts Centre; 8. The men's toilets!
Barbican Arts Centre, staircase looking up to ground floor level
I am not qualified to answer such questions, but present some of the images I have taken. I have spent hours in the arts centre, obsessed with its geometry, scale and colours. Yes, ultimately it is a vessel for the most wonderful art you can experience, but I would argue that the setting enhances the enjoyment of that art. Even the design of the toilets isincredible (proof in the gallery below)!
More recently I have explored the publicly accessible residential areas. The Barbican Arts Centre runs regular architecture tours that I highly recommend to gain a better insight into the different design models used for the housing across the whole site. Although the tour sticks to the public areas, the guide explains how the architects intended the residential sections to work, right down to the specific internal fittings (such as the 'Barbican sink') needed to make the spaces efficient.
If you have never visited please put aside a few hours to wander the walkways.
East London
From top left to right: 1. The Royal Oak, Columbia Road, Bethnal Green; 2. Ezra Street, Bethnal Green; 3. Columbia Road Primary School; 4. Kricket Restaurant, Canary Wharf; 5. Turbine Hall, Tate Modern; 6 to 8. Night views of the south bank of the Thames, between Tower and Millennium Bridges
Highgate Cemetery
Top from left to right: 1. to 4. Inside the Circle of Lebanon, West Cemetery; 5. Circle of Lebanon; 6. Egyptian Avenue; 7. Circle of Lebanon; 8. Tomb of Karl Marx, East Cemetery
Donegal
Top from left to right: 1. and 2. Deserted farmhouse, Fanad Peninsula; 3. Farmhouse, Fanad Peninsular; 4. Malin Head WW2 Hut