CLOSED CITIES

 
 

CLOSED CITIES

BY GREGOR SAILER

SYNOPSIS
Closed Cities (2009–2012)

In his impressive photo series Gregor Sailer examines the forms taken by closed cities in Siberia, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Chile, Algeria / Western Sahara and Argentina. The term closed city was originally coined for the Soviet Union, where, for various reasons, the existence of numerous towns was long kept secret. Some of them were not officially "opened up" and added to maps until the early years of this century. Even today, there are still artificially created urban zones across the globe that are hermetically sealed off from the outside world either by walls or by the hostile landscape that surrounds them. These might be places where raw materials are extracted, military sites, refugee camps – or gated communities for the affluent. Such time-limited forms of urban settlement strikingly illustrate the turning point humanity is facing at the beginning of the 21st century in view of dwindling resources, climate change, political conflicts and the yearning for unqualified security.

BIOGRAPHY
Gregor Sailer was born in 1980 in the city of Tyrol, Austria where he currently lives and works.
Between 2002 and 2007, Sailer studied communication design, with a focus on photography and experimental film, at the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Germany).
In 2015 he was granted his master’s degree in photographic studies from the same institution. He has since received numerous international awards and produced several publications and exhibitions in New York, Washington D.C., Paris, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Barcelona, Vienna, Prague, and Budapest.

CONTACT
info@gregorsailer.com

 

ZENITH

 

ZENITH

BY PETER BOBBY

The "Zenith" images are a key part of the overall body of work High-rise and play a central role in extending the visual approach and overall discussion. In its entirety, the project examines the socio-political, architectural and visual discourse surrounding high-rise constructions and the recording of them, using a combination of both interior and exterior still and moving imagery. The project is positioned at the discursive crossroads between art, architecture, photography and subjects relating to the urban built environment.

Shown here, publicly for the first time as a discrete series of images in their own right, rather than interspersed with the interior images and video works that make up High-rise, "Zenith" presents an alternative view of these constructions. Taken from street level, our gaze is directed upwards towards dramatically illuminated building summits, separating these corporate constructions from other forms of high-rise developments. Through their illumination, these buildings quite literally crave our attention and compete for their place as significant structures within the hierarchical visual identity of our contemporary cities. They become demonstrations of corporate and individual power through their outward facing exterior image, which in turn points to the suggested social status associated with occupying such spaces.


"The decision by Bobby to photograph only the very tops of these tall buildings from below, presents them as inadequate beacons set against the dense, inky black void that dominates the picture frame. Importantly, the photographs are printed onto a specially selected heavyweight matte paper that presents the blackness as an absolute absence of light, offering the viewer a highly un-photographic referent. The high-rises in this series become mysterious citadels offering no outward suggestion of their function. They become instead lonely follies in their self-imposed isolation from the practices of everyday life that animates the more complex human activities and encounters of street level."1

1. Liam Devlin, “In sight. In visible. In situ…” in High-rise, Peter Bobby (Cardiff: Ffotogallery, 2015), 90.

 

SOMEONE WAS HERE

 

SOMEONE WAS HERE

BY  VALE & CALVETE

The series "Alguém Esteve Aqui (Someone was here)" portraits the relationship between the Portuguese territory and its inhabitants. Despite the absence of human presence in the photographs, they are felt through gestures and specific intentions left in these places. These are records of a naive ability to organize a portion of the world that belongs to them. Therefore, indirectly, they are creating architecture, presenting others with their spatial honesty, without labeling any forms or methods. The captured photos seek to reveal these anonymous creations.

 

About the author
Ana Rita Vale (Guimarães, 1992) e André Calvete (Figueira da Foz,1991) are the duo of architects Vale & Calvete. Both hold a Master in Architecture in Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade do Porto since 2016. Co-founders and curators of the recent event "20x20: Ideias em Confronto (Ideas in Confrontation)" and assistants in other architectural activities. Since 2015, they have developed projects as a team, with some of their works being published in several printed and digital publications, in Portugal and overseas.

 

website

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SLEEPING TOWNS

 

SLEEPING TOWNS: BIBIONE AS A NON-PLACE

BY LARA BACCHIEGA

Lara Bachiega was born in Venice in 1989. 
She has a degree in Visual Art and Performing (IUAV University in Venice). Her work has already been shown in some individual and collecttiveexhibitions and published in photography publications.

Synopsis

The project analyzes the concept of non-place. Considering the definition provided by the French anthropologist Marc Augé in 1992 as a starting point, the concept is applied to the contemporary landscape, recognizing in particular the seaside town of Bibione, in the province of Venice, as the appropriate area of research for this investigation. Bibione is considered in the sense of large non-place as a place of transition, frequenting by masses in the summer season while suspended and empty during the winter months, to the point of assuming the aspect of a ghost town. The work highlights some of the features identified by Augé about these particular spaces, as their standardization and uniformity, their anonymity, their being untied from the context they physically occupy and their nature of a not-truly-lived environment: these places are seen just temporarily, without a real awareness.

Editor´s note

The presented project was selected from a spontaneous submission made by Lara Bacchiega. Our aim is to disseminate and bring to light telling work of emergent or young photographers.

 

REAR WINDOW

 

REAR WINDOW

BY JORDI HUISMAN

 

Jordi Huisman was born in The Netherlands in 1982. After a BSc at Engineering, Design & Innovation, attended the KABK art academy in The Hague to study photography. Has been working as a freelance photographer since 2005.

The series about the proposed US missile defense system in Czech Republic was published in Vrij Nederland in 2008. Portraits Jordi took of football dads were published in Volkskrant Magazine, also in 2008. From 2006 to 2010, toured through Europe and Japan with Amsterdam based hip-hop duo Pete Philly&Perquisite.

Since 2011, Jordi photographs lifestyle reportages for online interview magazine Freunde von Freunden. Prints of my work are for sale at UP-Editions in Amsterdam and Babel Art Collections in Brussels. The editorial work is available at Hollandse Hoogte and Offset. Jordi's commercial work is represented by Mrs. Robinson in Amsterdam.

 

Synopsis

The view from the rear of a residential building in an old city exhibits the ways in which people influence their surroundings. When a new building block is designed and built as a single structure and concept it acquires a uniformity and alignment; in older cities a much more fragmented and spontaneous architecture emerges. This architectural informality is in direct contrast with the façade of a building, which is much more aware of its appearance.

The Rear Window series focuses on the rear of buildings in capital cities. While one balcony becomes home to a large satellite dish, the neighbouring balcony becomes storage space; a small tree once planted in the courtyard has grown into a massive obstacle. There is also an element of the voyeuristic: meticulous exposures resolve small details in the houses and lives of their residents which were never meant to be outwardly visible.

By photographing these scenes in different capitals, national differences and global chaos are captured.

 

O NADO-MORTO

 

o nado-morto

BY mariana barreirA

 

Conclui o Mestrado Integrado de Arquitetura na FAUP em 2014/2015, tendo ganho Menção honrosa na Edição Archiprix 2016 com o projeto UM PROJECTO PARA UM CAMINHO. Ampliação da sede dos escuteiros do grupo Lac-Bleu, La Tour-de-Peilz, Suiça. Sob orientação do Prof. Dr. Marco Ginoulhiac, da Faculdade de Arquitectura da Universidade do Porto.

Synopsis

Pensamento fotográfico espontâneo e pouco ponderado sobre o edifício morto.

Spontaneous and unmindful photographic thinking about the dead building.

 

Editor's note

Our aim is to disseminate and bring to light telling work of emergent or young photographers.

 

XINJIANG: RE-CONSTRUCTION

 

XINJIANG: RE-CONSTRUCTION

BY TAHIR ÜN

 

Tahir Ün was born in Turkey in 1960. He holds a BA degree from Language and History-Geography Faculty of Ankara University, where he studied History of European Arts.


He worked in advertising and public relations between 1985–1995 and gave lectures of photography at the Center of Contemporary Arts in Ankara and at the Vocational College in Kara Elmas University in Safranbolu between 1995-1999.


He is a co-founder of Institution of Photography Art (FSK) since 1994. His photographs are published in many magazines such as “Foto” Magazine by Revista Foto S. L. , Madrid, Spain, “Zoom Inter_national” Magazine by Progreso Fotografico Editrice, Italy and “Foto Kino Magazine tillage International Photography” by Konkordia Kvissel, Denmark since 1983 and accepted to some collections such as Polaroid Collection, Ransom Center Photography, State Museum of Majdenek and Rhizome Artbase.


Tahir Ün published three books titled “Imagined Views/Moments of Revulsion” Photographs (1990) and “The Poetic Introduction of Representation of the Hidden Photograph” Poems (1995) and “Xinjiang : My Ancestral Land” photographs (2012). In addition, his articles about image theory are published in various Turkish art magazines since 2000. His works have been displayed in numerous worldwide events including 24 one-man exhibitions.
Tahir Ün is currently active also in new media arts and an instructor in the Communication Faculty of Yasar University at Izmir.

 

synopsis


Chinese government and private investors make significant investments for the urban transformation, development and modernization of this region. The new public spaces, public housing and industrialization change considerably to the lifestyle in the region. My project describes the conflict between identity and modernization.
I gathered the environment, human and architectural elements with collage technique after I completed my conceptual project.



 

editor's note

The presented photographic project was awarded with an honourable mention at the 4th edition of scopio International Photography Contest. The winner and honourable mentions will be exhibited at the contest's exhibition: Crossing Boarders, Shifting Boundaries at RIBA, on May 26th, 2015. For more information about this subject, click here.

 

THE NEAR SPACE

 

THE NEAR SPACE

BY GIULIA FLAVIA BACZYNSKI

 

Giulia Flavia Baczynski was born in Verona (1982) and graduated in Architecture at the Polytechnic in Milan. She works for several architects and cultural associations.

 

Synopsis

Space around us is a no neutral space, not unbiased: it is the space we create in our mind. This imagination allows us to produce a map of the word where every element is placed with the correct distance to us. “The near space” unveils monumental architecture taking its inspiration from the concept of personal distance investigated by Proxemics, the subject studying the way people occupy the space during a conversation. The ‘personal distance’ is that distance in which we can reach out our arm and grab it. It turns the architectural space we live in, we move in, careless. To grab does not mean to touch, to catch, rather to create a link to the object, to the place, to the space we are in. This is an attempt to understand our relationship and our position toward architecture.

The project has been commissioned by Polytechnic of Milan and took part in “Space_Photography_Architecture, Mantua School of Architecture”. Photographic section was curated by Marco Introini and Giulia Flavia Baczynski, Casa del Mantegna, 9-18 may 2014, Mantova.

 

SWAY

 

SWAY

BY EOIN O'CONNAIL

Eoin O’Conaill is a photographer and educator who works on long-term projects alongside commissioned work.  He has contributed to publications such as New York Times, Financial Times, Irish Times, International Herald Tribune, Le Monde, Telerama and has completed jobs for numerous commercial and fashion clients. 
His personal projects have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions both nationally and internationally and his work has been nominated for the Foam Paul Huf Photo Award, Prix Pictet 2011 & ‘13 and the project “Common Place” was the recipient of the Gallery of Photography Artist Award in 2009.
Eoin is a lecturer in photography  at Griffith College Cork and holds an MFA in Photography from the University of Ulster and a BA in Documentary Photography from the University of Wales, Newport.

synopsis 

This work documents a recurring physical and psychological environment that exists on the suburban fringes of the modern city, exploring the relationship between people and the built world around them. Extending from locations in Ireland, to the UK and Europe, Sway highlights an increasingly homogeneous cityscape of indistinct housing estates, architecture and periphery businesses where streets merge into each other and one town drifts into the next. Sway sets out to explore this familiar urban environment, looking to a landscape where the consequences of urban planning, economic and political decisions meet with human lives head on.

editor's note

Our aim is to disseminate and bring to light telling work of emergent or young photographers.

 

SHANGRI-LA

 

SHANGRI-LA

BY ALNIS STAKLE

Alnis Stakle (b.1975) lives and works in Latvia. He holds PhD in art education from Daugavpils University, Latvia. Since 1998, his works has been exhibited in Latvian Museum of Photography, Latvian National Museum of Art, The Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art, Modern Art Oxford (GB), Langhans gallery in Prague (CZ), Art Center ‘Winzavod’ in Moscow (RU), ‘Gostiny Dvor’ Museum and Exhibition Complex in Archangelsk (RU), Regional Art Museum in Tjumen (RU), Museum Center in Krasnojarsk (RU), Russia State Center of Photography in St. Petersburg (RU), Contemporary Art Museum in Santo Domingo (E),Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires (AR), Museum of Modern Art Carlos Merida of Guatemala City (GT), Centre for Fine Arts BOZAR in Brussells (BE). Stakle is represented by Grinberg Gallery in Moscow and Inde/Jacobs Gallery, San Antonio, Texas.

synopsis

Shangri-La is an imaginary place in China, described as a mystical and utopian valley shielded from the world by a chain of mountains – a true paradise on Earth.
At present, China is right there among the world’s most booming economies. It is estimated that over the next ten years its population growth will reach skyrocketing proportions. This will result in unprecedented levels of industrialisation and urbanisation – a reality of life that billions of Chinese will be facing already in the coming decade. In contemporary China, cities populated by millions have become a magnetic promised land for hordes of gold-diggers as well as people fleeing rural poverty. According to current estimates, by 2030 the urban population of China will reach one billion. To house all these people, 50000 new skyscrapers will need to be built – an amount that equals 10 New York Cities.
This series focuses on China’s hot zone of economic activity, exploring contemporary cityscape transformations in Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shenzhen and Guangzhou. Special attention is paid to territories with semi-cleared old buildings in preparation for construction of new skyscraper precincts. At night, the cityscape reveals how urban planning, housing, tearing down and construction transpire on an apocalyptic scale, which is particularly fascinating in view of the fact that semi-cleared buildings continue to be inhabited.

editor's note
The presented photographic project was awarded First Prize at the 4th edition of scopio International Photography Contest. The winner and honourable mentions will be exhibited at the contest's exhibition: Crossing Boarders, Shifting Boundaries at RIBA, on 26 of May, 2015. For more information about this subject, click here.

 

SUBTOPIA 2006-2008

 

SUBTOPIA 2006-2008

BY PAULO CATRICA

Paulo Catrica (born 1965, Lisbon; lives Lisbon) studied Photography (Ar.Co., Lisbon, 1985) and History (Lusiada University, 1992). He took an MA on Image and Communication at the Photography Department of Goldsmith’s College and an Audio Visual PhD Studies at the School of Art and Media (University of Westminster), researching The New Towns Program / UK 1946-1970s. He has exhibited at the Portuguese Center of Photography, at the Finnish Photography Triennal and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in London, among other locations. He has published his work in national and international books and magazines, participated in several individual and group exhibitions, and has collaborated several times with scopio Editorial Line: invited author in the section Projects of scopio magazine aboveground city, speaker at the congress ON THE SURFACE: Public Space and Architectural images in debate and invited speaker for the second session of the Conference Cycle CFM + DTW, with "The making of urban & architectural photographs Nineteenth century photographs and the discourses of architecture and urban planning.".

Paulo Catrica´s work on urban landscapes and architecture is an original synthesis that offers a fresh and insightful perspective of the recent past and present realities of our hybrid city. The diverse series he published in scopio aboveground city shows clearly how Paulo Catrica is focused on the subject of public space and city life, understanding critically the rich multi-faceted world that exists in the cities. It is clear his insightful understanding of architectural spaces and their uses through time. He is a photographer with a strong interest in history and his subject of election is urban landscape, especially city spaces and architecture and his interesting work has a postmodernist strand of its own.

Subtopia proposes to build a cognitive map on the contemporary condition of the New Towns in the United Kingdom. Assuming
 a descriptive mood the photographs endorse landscape as a cultural construction. They look into urbanism and architecture as ideological epitomes, seen through the organization of public spaces.

Operating as visual fragments of a non-existent whole, Subtopia intends to create an imaginary New Town by assembling photographs from five different towns, chosen according to the different historical and political phases of the New Towns program: Stevenage (1946), Harlow (1947), Cumbernauld (1955) Runcorn (1964) and Milton Keynes (1967). Reclaiming an allegorical condition, as palimpsests, the photographs trace other layers beneath the image surface.
They affirm their arbitrariness and contingency, refusing any intention to impose a unitary vision upon the subject. In their subjective task they aim to further another possibility to quest the significance of suburban space in post-war British culture and collective memory.

This project was published in scopio magazine, aboveground: city.

 

NACHIBAR

 

NACHIBAR

BY JUAN ABALLE

Juan Aballe studied photography at the School of the International Center of Photography (NYC), and earned a MA in Photography at EFTI School (Madrid). He has been awarded grants from institutions such as the Spanish Ministry of Culture or Fundación Botín and his work has been exhibited and published internationally.

His photography combines a documentary background with a strong formal exploration of the medium and its ability to generate narratives and emotions beyond reality itself. He is deeply interested in how the subjective and ambiguous nature of photography can combine fact and interpretation, reality and imagination.

He has lived several years in Germany and the U.S.A. and is currently based in his hometown, Madrid. 

SYNOPSIS

The NachIbar project (neighbor in german) started when I discovered the old man living in the building in front of my flat in Berlin. I noticed how he used to spend some time everyday at his window, and started to observe him.

I became more and more intrigued by this lonely man and his daily routine, feeling increasingly close to him. For over a year, I photographed his moments at the window, developing a relationship without ever meeting him.

Almost five years later, I self-edited the Nachbar book, which includes 36 of those photographs, as well as texts in spanish and german. 

 

MIRAFLORES

 

MIRAFLORES

POR MIGUEL HENRIQUES

Miguel Henriques é um fotografo Português, concluiu em 2013, o Curso Avançado de Fotografia da AR.CO de Lisboa. Nos últimos anos dedicou-se ao estudo e levantamento fotográfico dos bairros de Lisboa. Realizou diversas exposições individuais e colectivas e publicou, recentemente, o livro "Olivais", pela editora Pianola.

sinopse 

Nos últimos anos dediquei-me a fotografar bairros da periferia da Grande Lisboa resultantes de planos originais coesos (Olivais, Parque das Nações, Portela de Loures e Encarnação), mesmo quando sofreram alterações posteriores significativas (como é o caso de Miraflores). Mais do que um mero levantamento topográfico, procuro um aspecto genuíno em cada bairro. Miraflores principia com uma urbanização promovida por Juan Mechó, com base num projecto multidisciplinar de 1965 destinado a famílias de rendimento alto. A construção inicia-se em 1969, com um prazo de conclusão de 8 anos. De génese modernista, o plano segue o modelo das periferias de Madrid: auto-suficiente, com infra-estruturas desportivas e comerciais próprias. Cada prédio tem um parqueamento subterrâneo próprio, o que é pouco usual na época. O novo quadro político da revolução de 25 de Abril produz obstáculos: o bairro é considerado elitista e as obras são suspensas. Juan Mechó morre na segunda metade dos anos 80 e a família retoma o projecto, aproveitando uma época de crescimento económico. A estratégia consiste em vender os terrenos ainda disponíveis, inseridos num novo plano da Câmara de Oeiras que permite um volume de construção maior do que o inicial. O realojamento da população da Pedreira dos Húngaros - bairro clandestino anexo - alarga o terreno para a construção de fogos de habitação. Nesta série de fotografias, interessou-me principalmente o desenvolvimento do bairro numa encosta que proporciona amplas panorâmicas, contrastantes com os aglomerados de torres de volumetria impressionante, criando sensações opostas, de expansão e de clausura. Esta oposição prolonga-se na paisagem, bem para lá dos limites do bairro, como que dominando toda a periferia. Outro aspecto importante resulta das diferenças entre os vários aglomerados de edifícios, adivinhando - nas suas diferenças arquitectónicas - o lapso temporal entre as diversas épocas de construção.


editor´s note

The presented project was selected from a spontaneous submission made by Miguel Henriques. Our aim is to disseminate and bring to light telling work of emergent or young photographers.

 

MÉMOIRE

 

MÉMOIRE

BY SONIA MANGIAPANE

Sonia Mangiapane is a professional photographer whose areas of interest include architecture, spaces, landscape, art & design related projects. She has worked for a number of years for architectural, commercial and editorial clients while also pursuing my own personal work.

In 2012 she relocated to Amsterdam (The Netherlands) from her hometown in Melbourne (Australia). Recently she was shortlisted for the 2014 Arcaid Images Architectural Photography Awards.

synopsis

The initial aim of this series was simply to document temporary structures, all of which, at the time of shooting, were in a state of transition. I felt a sense of urgency; that these buildings ought to be recorded in some way, lest they be erased from collective memory.

Today some of the structures I have photographed no longer exist. In time some will cease to exist; while others will have elements retained, but their original state will be transformed in a fundamental way.

“Mémoire” explores two themes in parallel; one for the head and one for the heart as it were…

On the one hand, it aims to provoke discussion relating to the sustainable regeneration and adaptive reuse of our existing buildings. Regeneration of the urban environment is critical to a sustainable future. However, confronted with a multitude of social, environmental, financial & political issues to consider, the path we should take is not always clear-cut.

On the other hand, as the series developed I found that it wasn’t the structures themselves that were the most interesting aspect of this project. Rather, the fact that the spaces housed by the structure once had people inhabiting, occupying, visiting or passing through them. These “shells” are embodied with the history and memories of those people. I consider this series a tribute to those memories.

Shot mainly in Melbourne’s inner urban area throughout 2008 to 2010, “Mémoire” captures fleeting moments in our changing urban landscape.

editor's note

Our aim is to bring light to interesting work coming from emergent authors or young photographers.

 

MIES MODEL STUDY

 

MIES MODEL STUDY

BY JOACHIM BROHM


Joachim Brohm (Dülken, Germany, 1955). Has a Diploma in Visual Comunications/Photography from the University of Essen GHS/Folkwang (Germany, 1983) and at the Ohio State University in Columbus (USA, 1984). He has had many solo exhibitions all around the world: Germany, Holland, Austria, USA, Italy, Czech Republic, Belgium, UK, China and Portugal. He was Lecturer and Visiting Artist/Professor in Bielefeld, Dortmund, Salzburg, Chicago and Zürich. Since 1993 he is Professor of Photography at the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig where he was also Rector from 2003 to 2011. Has had several monographs as well as been part of many catalogues of group exhibitions. Lives and works in Leipzig.

synopsis

More than 80 years after (Mies van der Rohes) designs for the Krefeld Golf Club were abandoned due to the Great Depression, Belgian architect Paul Robbrecht set about to realize the unfinished project. In 2013, a 1:1 scale model of Mies van der Rohe's original design was realized on the outskirts of Krefeld, a location Mies had selected. Built from unfinished drawings and unrefined plans, the space was rough and incomplete. The temporary space provided rare insight into what could have been – a notion that intrigued photographer Joachim Brohm, and is emphasized by his photographs which draw on the style of the original Modernist photographers, using a mixture of color and black and white images which incorporate diagonal lines and emphasize the open, flowing spaces of the Mies design. Brohm has an extensive background in architectural photography. His portfolio of architectural eccentricities delves into the details of design anomalies, drawing attention to uncommon elements of building design. Brohm was given the opportunity to photograph the life-size Mies model, producing a series of photographs that examine the basic geometry of architectural design, with an emphasis on the unfinished elements of the building.

 

LUGARES

 

LUGARES

POR ALDA JOÃO

 

Alda João é arquitecta pela Faculdade de Arquitectura e Artes da Universidade Lusíada do Porto, desde 2014, ano em que concluiu o Mestrado Integrado em Arquitectura.

Paralelamente, tem-se dedicado, desde 2012, e de forma autodidacta, à fotografia analógica, contando já com algumas exposições individuais e colectivas em Viana do Castelo (Inauguro), Vila Nova de Gaia (#PotênciasDe10) e Lisboa (Trienal de Arquitectura de Lisboa 2013).

Embora explore diferentes câmaras e formatos, a câmara com que mais gosta de fotografar é uma Canon de 35 mm, que pertenceu ao seu pai. Os seus temas de eleição são Arquitectura, Viagem, Street photography e Paisagem.

 

Synopsis

As imagens contidas nesta série, resultam não só do seu arquivo pessoal de fotografia de viagem, como também do deambular por cidades com as quais se encontrava já familiarizada, e são fruto da descoberta dos habitats que constituem.

Procurou captar as atmosferas dos lugares no momento em que foram visitados, o silêncio e a inquietude dos cenários vazios, e de que forma os habitantes da cidade se apropriam destes espaços.

 

Editor's note

Our aim is to disseminate and bring to light telling work of emergent or young photographers.

 

LITTLE PEOPLE, BIG PLACES

 

LITTLE PEOPLE, BIG PLACES

BY CARLO CAFFERINI

 

Born in Piacenza, Italy, in 1985, I fell in love with photography when I was a child, traveling in the wake of my uncles around France, Spain and Portugal, always armed with film cameras. I moved to digital reflex four years ago.
My passion for photography has gone hand in hand with a passion for architecture, especially contemporary. For this reason my photographs have always had a special consideration for architecture, and they are often linked with the human figure, without whom the structure would not exist.
Recently my project 'Presence-absence in architecture' has been featured in LensCulture as Editors' Pick and a selection of images from the project has been printed in Aesthetica Magazine - Issue 65. You can see my work here, on 500px, and follow me on instagram.

 

Synopsis

The littleness of human being, the magnificence of human structures.
I was always mesmerized by the great, huge structures built by man through the centuries, in a continuous effort to reach the sky.
Structures in respect to which the man reveals himself in all his smallness and insignificance, but at the same time the first evidence of the greatness and importance of human being, because we must not forget that without man these architectures would not exist.
The project 'Little people, big places' tries to explore this relationship between man and architecture, that shows itself sometimes as a mute dialogue, sometimes as a one-way communication from architecture to unaware people, sometimes instead as a unidirectional communication between people and seemingly indifferent architecture.
Images of this ongoing project are taken in various european cities (Barcelona, Lisboa, Berlin, Rome, Pisa, Milano), visited during my trips.

 

Editor's note

Our aim is to disseminate and bring to light telling work of emergent or young photographers.

 

LA MURALLA ROJA

 

LA MURALLA ROJA

BY FRED GUILLAUD

 

PROYECTO: LA MURALLA ROJA

AÑO: 1973 LOCALIZACIÓN: CALPE, ALICANTE, SPAIN

CLIENTE: PALOMAR S.A.  

 

Within the context of La Manzanera, La Muralla Roja (The Red Wall) asks to be considered as a case apart. It embodies a clear reference to the popular architecture of the Arab Mediterranean, in particular to the adobe towers of North Africa. The Red Wall is like a fortress which marks a vertical silhouette following the contour lines of the rocky cliff. With this building, RBTA wanted to break the post-Renaissance division between public and private spaces reinterpreting the Mediterranean tradition of the Kasbah. The labyrinth of this recreated Kasbah corresponds to a precise geometric plan based on the typology of the Greek cross with arms 5 meters long, these being grouped in different ways, with service towers (kitchens and bathrooms) at their point of intersection. The geometric basis of the layout is also an approximation to the theories of constructivism, and makes La Muralla Roja a very clear evocation of these. The forms of the building, evoking a constructivist aesthetic, create an ensemble of interconnected patios which provide access to the 50 apartments, which include 60 sqm studios, and two and three-bedroom apartments of 80 and 120 sqm, respectively. On the roof terraces there are solariums, a swimming pool, and a sauna for resident’s use. The criterion of applying to the building a gamut of various colours responds to the intention to give a determined relief to the distinct architectural elements, according to their structural functions. The outside surfaces are painted in various tones of red, to accentuate the contrast with the landscape; patios an stairs, however, area treated with blue tones, such as sky-blue, indigo, violet, to produce a stronger or weaker contrast with the sky or, on the contrary, an optical effect of blending in with it. The intensity of the colours is also related to the light and shows how the combination of these elements can help create a greater illusion of space.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Fred Guillaud (1973, France) is a graduated architect. He moves to Barcelona where he worked during 10 years as a partner architect  in WMA agency before creating his own multidisciplinary company in 2010 QUARCS, Architectural synchronized network.   In parallel of his activity, Fred Guillaud develops an important photographic work exclusively shot in film. His work is mainly centered on architecture and urban landscapes but Fred adds sometime people in his pics to show the social context. His images are simple but forceful, with a small color palette, a strong graphic style and a great serenity. 

 

Site: http://www.fredguillaud.com