The “New Créteil” was an urbanization program carried out in the seventies. It was intended to provide the city of Créteil, which is located around 6 km southeast of Paris, new apartment buildings and public facilities such as a town hall, prefecture, hospital, and courthouse. In a series called “See the New Créteil,” photographer Robin Leroy documents a city considered transcendent of the traditional clichés of modern architecture.
Rarely does one see brutalist architecture in the city of London. Primarily, these buildings were perceived as rebellious and grotesque, only to become the "go-to" style for commercial and governmental buildings after the Second World War. Nowadays, with the real estate market demands and dominance of contemporary architecture, these monumental grey structures are gradually fading away.
Santiago-based architect and photographer Grégoire Dorthe developed the passion of photography during his military service, when he realized that through his images, he is able to freeze moments and preserve what will be lost with time. In his photographic series titled "Brutal London", the Swiss photographer captures the raw forms and graphic qualities of the city's brutalist architecture, before these buildings meet their end.
Hong Kong is considered to have one of the most exceptional skylines and urban schemes in the world: contemporary skyscrapers stand amidst the mountains and harbour, ancient houses nestled between futuristic structures, neon lights, landscapes... But among Hong Kong's numerous remarkable architectures, its spatial typology of death is like no other.
Over the course of five years, RIBA-nominated architectural photographer Finbarr Fallon captured the hyper-dense graveyards of Hong Kong, showcasing the sublime geometry of its mountainside burials in a series titled "Dead Space".
Ste Murray has recently visited Chicago and photographed the famous John Hancock Center on its 50th Anniversary. Completed in 1969, and conceived by architect Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Khan of Skidmore Owings and Merrill, the building was once the tallest structure in the world outside of New York.
The Berlin Philharmonic by Hans Scharoun is one of the most prominent mid-20th century structures in the German city. The expressionist-style building with its bright-colored facade is the first of its kind by the German architect, as well as his most famous project to date. Scharoun’s design interprets rhythm and music as architecture, both conceptually and physically.
Architectural photographer Bahaa Ghoussainy unfolds Scharoun’s unique architecture by highlighting the concert hall’s dramatic angular geometry, vibrant yellow-hued facade, and play of lines and forms.
Photography is still one of the most widely used means of representation and communication in architecture. Although it does not incorporate the temporal dimension, the level of fidelity with which photography represents the other three dimensions of the built world makes it one of architect's favorite tools to convey their buildings.
To celebrate World Photography Day, we've gathered 15 photographers from around the world who are worth knowing - and following on Instagram.
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Earlier this year, the L’Abre Blanc Residential Tower was completed in Montpellier, France. Designed by Sou Fujimoto, Nicolas Laisné, Manal Rachdi, and Dimitri Roussel, the tree-like structure features cantilevered balconies protruding from its ‘trunk’ in all directions. An eccentric but unique silhouette, the building is hoped to become an object of pride for the people of Montpellier as well as a tourist attraction.
Architectural photographer Marwan Harmouche has published images of the new Paris Courthouse, designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop. Situated on the northern edge of Paris, the Tribunal de Paris regroups various facilities previously dispersed around the capital, becoming the largest law courts complex in Europe.
Shanghai is a city full of contradictions. Beneath the towering skyscrapers and contemporary complexes, old houses and shops are tucked away, gradually falling apart. The city's disappearing streets caught the attention of many international photographers. Some displayed the relationship between old vs new, while others focused on the historic districts and their cultural significance.
Canadian photographer Greg Girard, who spent most of his time in Asia, examined the social and physical transformations of the Chinese city and published a photo-book titled “Phantom Shanghai”.
Modern architecture emerged during the late 19th - early 20th century to break away from historical styles and create structures based on functionality and novelty. Regardless of the style's prominence, post-modernist architecture emerged a few decades later as a reaction to modernism's uniformity and formality, adding complexity, asymmetry, and color into architecture.
During a recent trip to Europe, Los Angeles-based photographer Skyler Dahan put together a photo-series of the two architecture styles, shooting Aldo Rossi and Carlo Aymonino’s Gallaratese Housing II, along with other modernist and post-modernist buildings across Milan, Brittany, and Oslo.
Post World War II, Brutalism found its way across Europe, redefining modernist architecture and establishing a new style for mass housing and communal buildings. Although most of the light was shed on concrete landmarks in major cities, European suburbs have also housed many exceptional brutalist buildings such as the 'Hammer-shaped Tower Blocks' or the 'Houses on Chicken Legs'.
To showcase Central and Eastern Europe's "unnoticed" brutalist architecture, Zupagrafika have shot and put together more than 100 photographs in a book titled 'Eastern Blocks', inviting readers to explore brutalist mass housing developments across Moscow, East Berlin, Warsaw, Budapest, Kyiv, and Saint Petersburg.
Between Shanghai’s crowded meat markets, bundles of wires, vivid neon lights, and dense smogs, lie the historic ‘Shikumen’ lane houses. Built between the end of the 19th century and World War II, these houses were inspired by French and British Colonial and Art Deco styles and the Chinese ‘Hutong’ housing style. But time for these aged ornate structures is running out, as all the Shikumen lane houses across Shanghai are being torn down.
As part of his Shanghai Streets series, photographer Cody Ellingham has set out on a mission to freeze time and capture these historic streets before they are completely demolished and forgotten.
Regardless of what field designers specialize in, they are capable of translating their ideas and fantasies into visible and tangible material. After all, a designer's principle is quite simple: If it doesn't exist, create it.
For his final photography exam, Szabó Viktor took photos of existing buildings and manipulated them into structures that only exist in his imagination.
Nothing is ordinary about the Italian city of Venice. Whether it is the vividly-colored architecture that dates back to Gothic and Byzantine eras, or the fact that the city is floating on water, culturally-rich Venice is an intriguing destination for people of all backgrounds and interests.
With every visit to Venice, London-based architect and photographer Mayank Thammalla found himself discovering new scenic views of the city, ones that are often tucked beneath its architecture. In his recent photographic series ‘Echoes of Venice’, Thammalla used the canal ripples as his canvas and displayed the deteriorating architecture of Venice from a unique, inverted perspective.
Although Brutalist architecture is often criticized for its raw, unfinished look, it has been frequently used in the design of public buildings, with many becoming iconic landmarks. Some architects chose to break away from typical concrete structures and implemented a pop of color on the walls, window frames, and flooring, adding some dynamism to the monotonous palette.
Shot with a Leica M6 film camera, architecture and interior design photographer Luciano Spinelli photographed the Düsseldorf University campus, displaying the contrast between its brutalist architecture and vibrant design features.
Madrid-based architectural photographer Zisko Gómez captures the recently-growing interest in Spanish architect Fernando Higueras with his photo series of Higueras’ “La Corona de Espinas,” or “The Crown of Thorns.” The building is currently headquarters to the Spanish Cultural Heritage Institute and contemporary art foundation ICO recently organized an exhibition in Madrid of Higueras’ work.
Architectural photographer Marc Goodwin recently visited Brazil to continue on his journey documenting the world's architecture offices. Expanding on his current list, he's already visited Panama City, the Netherlands, Dubai, London, Paris, Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, the Nordic countries, Barcelona, and Los Angeles. In Brazil, Marc photographed 20 offices across a range of scales and project types. Find out more about the individual offices and the city they are a part of through Marc's feature.
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