Photography 1: People and Place Assignment 3 (Rev)

Assignment 3: Buildings in Use Revised

Original version can be found at 05/10/2012

For this assignment I chose 6 public buildings or spaces.  I researched each of the locations so that I had a good understanding of how and why each was designed in the way it was.  I then attempted to create images of each building or space that would describe the way in which the spaces were used.  This then enabled me to form an opinion on each as a usable space.

Oriel y Parc Gallery and Visitor Centre, St David’s

2527: Cafe at Oriel y Parc, St David's.

This building is used as a visitor centre, art gallery, studio for the Artist in Residence, discovery room for family friendly art and nature activities and a café.

The building is designed to sit discreetly in the landscape and uses state of the art green technologies.  It contributes to the landscape in a positive way.  One of the principle materials in the structure is Welsh oak from sustainable sources.  The orientation of the building provides bright open spaces to achieve a useful space for both creating and presenting artwork.  The curve of the building is aligned so that the sun tracks around it from sunrise to sunset.

2530: Visitor Centre at Oriel y Parc, St David's.

 This building is successful in providing a welcoming and functional community space.

I initially set about photographing the outside of the building.  However as the internal spaces are so light and show the use of the building to best effect I chose to mostly photograph them.  These images show the useful spaces within the building.

2549: Exhibition Tower.

2551: Artist in Residence Studio.

I have revised this image by cropping our the large empty space to the left of the frame.  This serves to concentrate the viewer's attention onto the fish and the process involved in creating the artwork.

 Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff

2592: Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff.

The Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre located in the Bay area of Cardiff.  The industrial heritage of Cardiff is reflected through the design and materials used.  The building provides one large theatre and two small halls with shops, bars and restaurants.  The shape of the imposing front, or dome of the building is in the shape of an “inverted necklace”.  The Welsh and English poetry on the front of the building each has its own message.  The lettering is formed by windows in the upstairs bar areas and are internally illuminated at night.  The idea of this monumental inscription comes from Roman classical architecture.

2593: Wales Millennium Centre Ticket Office.

I have revised this image by cropping it top and bottom to emphasise the width of the foyer.

The design of the concourse galleries is intended to evoke the image of the edge of the forest, because the edge of the forest in folklore and mythology represents a line between the real world and the magical world.  The form of trees is created by the interweaving curvature of the gallery edges and by the random positioning of the supporting columns.  The design of the building provides a large, open indoor space for community activities.

2596: Wales Millennium Centre Concourse Galleries.

The building is a successful and popular meeting place for the people of Cardiff.  Inside there is a bustling atmosphere with free daily foyer performances plus bars and restaurants.

The building is impressive both inside and outside.  I set about photographing the interior so as to portray the human interaction with the space that the building provides.  I photographed the impressive dome during the day and at night to show the iconic stature of the building.

2625: Wales Millennium Centre at Night.

 Craft in the Bay, Cardiff

2707: Craft in the Bay Interior

This Victorian dockside building is now used as an art and craft gallery.  It has been created from a refurbished “D” shed.  It is a grade II listed maritime warehouse with a wooden extension.  The building was designed with a large uninterrupted interior, which is ideal for the use to which it has been put.  The gallery displays fine contemporary craftwork.

2709: Craft in the Bay Interior

The building occupies the “Flourish”, a triangular shaped space at the confluence of three main routes in Cardiff Bay.

2711: Craft in the Bay

I set about photographing the building mainly from the inside so as to give the impression of the light, open space that it provides to people viewing the exhibits.

2713: Craft in the Bay, Cardiff.

The Senedd Building, Cardiff

2608: The Senedd Building, Cardiff.

This is the main public building of the National Assembly for Wales.  It is built from traditional Welsh materials such as slate and Welsh Oak.  The building occupies a prime position on the waterfront in Cardiff Bay.  It has been designed to generate a sense of open government and public accessibility.  The public are free to enter the building and watch the proceedings from the public gallery.  The design makes good use of the waterside frontage.

2642: View From the Public Gallery of the Senedd.

2647: Interior of the Senedd Foyer.

When in the foyer of the building you are inside but the focus is outside.  Seasonal changes activate the space.

The building is successful in creating a connection to the adjacent landscape and community.

2651: Roof of the Senedd Interior.

I set about photographing both the inside and outside of the building and attempted to show the effect of natural light on the space.  I wanted to portray the building’s effect on people through its light, space and materiality.

The Arcades of Cardiff

2676: High Street Arcade.

The Victorian and Edwardian pedestrian arcades of the city of Cardiff are the reason for the city being called “the city of arcades”.  The arcades were originally built to protect shoppers from the elements, especially in winter.  The shops in the arcades are all independently owned and provide a welcome change to the uniformity of modern shopping centres.  Some of them have been designed with multiple floors.  For example, Castle Arcade has three storeys.  This maximises the space for shops and shopping.

2685: Royal Arcade.

The design of the arcades successfully creates an intimate village appeal with interesting pedestrianised street-scapes.  The spaces created are on a more human scale than modern shopping malls.

I set out to photograph the arcades early in the morning so that the large numbers of shoppers usually present didn’t obscure the layout of the spaces.

2688: Morgan Arcade.

2695: Castle Arcade.

St David’s 2 Shopping Centre, Cardiff

The St David’s 2 Shopping Centre has been designed to reflect Cardiff’s unique arcade shopping experience.  The 240 meter long Grand Arcade is the centre piece of the shopping centre and creates an atmosphere that is both uplifting and inspiring.  It creates an almost contemporary cathedral like quality.

2661: Grand Arcade.

The design successfully creates a sense of space through the use of natural stone, light coloured timbers, reflected light and other natural materials.  From the upper floors there is the sensation of the body moving through space.

2662: St David's 2 Shopping Centre.

The internal spaces successfully maintain contact with other, older parts of the city through the use of natural light and large, floor-to-ceiling windows giving views of the surrounding traditional buildings.

2668: View From the St David's 2 Shopping Centre.

I set about photographing the arcades and “streets” of the shopping centre early in the morning with overcast weather.  This gave inside and outside lighting in reasonable balance without too much contrast between the two.

2672: Exterior of St David's 2 Shopping Centre.

The new building is of a similar scale to the existing architecture of the city.  This helps people to relate to the building in a positive way.

In this revised image I have cropped out some of the foreground as it is featureless.  I have also corrected the converging verticals.

What have I learned photographically during the course of shooting this assignment?

Early morning or late afternoons are the best times to photograph buildings and spaces.  The light is coming from the side rather than directly overhead.  The direction of the sunlight is vitally important to the photograph.  There are usually fewer people around.

When shooting a building, ask yourself what it is about this particular building that makes it attractive and focus on that.  Sometimes this will mean framing the whole building, sometimes it will mean picking out details and sometimes a mixture of both will work well.

Choose your viewpoint carefully and watch out for clutter in the background.

When photographing a building It is best to include some of the surrounding space to give the context.  This helps to anchor the image.

When wishing to show details in buildings, a high overcast day is best.

For glass walled buildings, when photographed in natural light, even or overcast light is best.

Generally a large depth of field and a low ISO, for lower noise is best.  The viewer should have the choice to look at any part of the structure and find it in adequately sharp focus.  This however requires the use of a tripod, which is not always practical at busy times.

For capturing the sweep of a courtyard or exaggerating the lines of a modern building, wide-angle lenses are useful.  For showing a building and its environment in natural perspective a 50mm lens is best.  A telephoto lens of at least 200mm is the most appropriate lens for compressing perspective and isolating inaccessible details.