- Images of
- Architecture
- and the
- Built Environment
Film Center at Lincoln Center by Albert Vecerka
Albert Vecerka's images of the Rockwell Group's Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center at Lincoln Center are featured in the new Record Interiors 2011.
The theater is largely framed by the surrounding Lincoln Center context including the Lincoln Restaurant Pavilion by Diller Scofidio + Renfro (DS+R) and FXFOWLE, and the Milstein Pool and Terrace above. Albert's images show the street facade at 66th Street, the lobby and resaurants as well as the three theaters.
See the gallery of Albert's images and read the full Architectural Record article here.
Preserving Modern Architecture
The Manufacturers Trust Company is an important modern building on Fifth Avenue and 43 Street in New York. The bank was designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and completed in 1954. In spite of the exterior having received landmark status in 1997, some interior modifications have already been made and further changes, inside and out, are planned. As a result, the meaning and strength of the Landmarks ordinance is currently being disputed.
Buckminster Fuller Dome in Ohio
Jeff Goldberg has just photographer the American Society of Metallurgists headquarters in Materials Park, Ohio which is over 50 years old and includes a 300’, open-frame geodesic dome by Buckminster Fuller. The ASM building itself, beneath the dome, was designed by John Terrence Kelly. With this project, The Chesler Group moves from developing earlier industrial buildings to an important mid-Twentieth Century project.
Solar Decathlon House in Washington DC
Albert Vecerka, who teaches at the City College of New York, has been photographing the CCNY entry to the 2011 Department of Energy Solar Decathlon. Originally constructed at the college, then dismantled, the Solar Decathlon House was trucked to Washington where it’s been reassembled and will be open to the public until October 2. Here are a few images of the process and the installation.
Albert's Slideshow
Jane's Carousel in Brooklyn Bridge Park
Jane’s Carousel, in the new pavilion designed by Jean Nouvel, is now open to the public. Installed in Brooklyn Bridge Park, the carousel is a gift to the city from Jane and David Walentas whose company, Two Trees, pioneered redevelopment in Dumbo, near the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges.
Covington Farmers Market
Jeff Goldberg photographed the Covington Farmers Market which was designed and built by students in the Virginia Tech design/buildLAB.
In keeping with the goals of the design/buildLAB, students learned to confront real world problems and collaborate with the community to implement innovative solutions.
Keith and Marie Zawistowski started the program several years ago, and it now attracts students from all over the world. Keith took the photos of Jeff at work.
design/buildLAB on dezeen
design/buildLAB on archdaily
10th Anniversary of 9/11
The 10th Anniversary of 9/11 is an important event in our country’s history. Esto photographers are working with editors to create images for several stories to commemorate the occasion. Jeff Goldberg photographed The National 9/11 Memorial in Manhattan, designed by Michael Arad, and David Sundberg captured the 9/11 Memorial in Jersey City, NJ, designed by Frederic Schwartz Architects. Both are powerful and moving tributes to those who lost their lives in the attacks.
David Sundberg in the Right Place at the Right Time
David Sundberg was in the right place at the right time: Hoboken on a recent afternoon. If you believe the pot of gold is at the end of the rainbow, try Spruce Street.
Tokyo American Club photographed by Jeff Goldberg
The Tokyo American Club, founded in 1928, has occupied several facilities around the city. Early in 2011, the Club moved into a new building designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli that combines food service, lodging, meeting and recreation facilities.
Jeff Goldberg was asked to make lively images of the new Club facilities in use, without disrupting the ongoing activities. He spent s several weeks in Japan arranging access, planning the project, making still photographs with some video documentation as well.
The resulting material provides a thorough look at the design, construction and use of this complicated project that includes formal business venues as well as recreation areas for families and children. His photographs tell the story of the building as a lively center of activity and a home-away-from-home for business persons and their families.
Jeff continues to document important projects for the office of Pelli Clarke Pelli
Peter Aaron: Hudson Passive House
Architect Dennis Wedlick designed the Hudson Passive House in Claverack, NY, a project that shows that “adopting the basic tenets of the passive house concept- harnessing the power of the sun, adopting a compact and efficient shape, using super-insulation, and minimizing heat loss through the building envelope- can be implemented in any project regardless of style and climate, making the end result…energy efficient”.
Peter’s photographs provide the definitive visual description of the site, construction, materials and related products.
For information about the house, www.hudsonpassiveproject.com
And for Peter’s updated portfolio,
Erica Stoller Spoke at the Bard Graduate Center
Erica Stoller, the director of Esto, took part in a program, “Photography and the Modern Interior” at the Bard Graduate Center (: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture) in New York on July 28. Her presentation concentrated on several mid-Twentieth Century model homes that were built for the public to visit and for publication as a general introduction to modern design on a residential scale.
www.bgc.bard.edu/gallery/gallery-programs-knoll/-341.html
New World Center
Recently, David Sundberg photographed Frank Gehry’s New World Center in Miami Beach. The project is the centerpiece of a 15-year effort to rejuvenate an area of the city and to attract music lovers worldwide. Live feeds of performances in the concert hall are projected on the outside of the building and can be viewed by the public from the new SoundScape Park.
Some of David's images can be found in the May 2011 issue of the Architectural Record, and as the cover story of the June edition of Casabella.
www.estoportfolios.com/newworldcenter
NW Corner Science Building, Columbia University
Working on assignmet for Casabella Magazine, David Sundberg photographed Jose Rafael Moneo’s major, new project: the NW Corner Science Building at Columbia University. Visible in the façade is the truss system devised to meet the challenge of elevating the new structure above the existing gymnasium. The feature story appears in the May 2011 edition.
The Museum of the Moving Image Expansion
Peter Aaron photographed the exciting expansion at The Museum of the Moving Image designed by Leeser Architecture. The blue aluminum triangles that form the new façade
stand in contrast to the original studio complex built for Paramount Pictures in 1920. Inside,
the white-on-white, glass-walled lobby, various informal projection walls, and interactive galleries further highlight the difference between then and now.
Peter's images are featured in the current issue of Interior Design Magazine. Click the link below for the online story and be sure to see the beautiful double-page spread in the print edition.
www.interiordesign.net/article/537189-Pass_the_Popcorn.php
Blind Spot Radio
David La Spina is co-hosting Blind Spot Radio, a weekly broadcast about photography on WGXC, 90.7 FM, a community station in Acra, Hudson and Catskill, NY.
On March 22, he and co-host, Dave Bush, discussed architectural photography. They interviewed Peter Aaron and played clips from a 1993 interview with the late Ezra Stoller.
The radio show is affiliated with Blind Spot, the esteemed journal of contemporary photography, and includes discussions with photographers, curators, editors, historians, artists and innovators in technology.
Click here to listen
Haiti Rebuilds
David Sundberg was in Haiti in mid-March photographing with a video crew from the Schack Institute of Real Estate at New York University. They were documenting several on-going projects. The first, in the Delmas 32 region of Port-au-Prince, involves rooftop rain water harvesting . Other subjects involved tracking construction of a new concrete plant near Leoganes and new Konbit bagged-earth structures in Bigones. Equally important are new construction methods to provide jobs and as well as better housing and access to clean water. David will be returning to Haiti in early summer to continue work on this pro bono project.
The Schermerhorn
Ennead Architects designed The Schermerhorn, a subsidized housing facility in New York City that was developed by Common Ground Community and co-sponsored by The Actors' Fund. There are 216 residents living in the building with the lower floors for common activities and community use. David Sundberg and Albert Vecerka each photographed the building at different phases, first as construction was being completed and then when it was in use. The project received a 2011 AIA Housing Award.
www.aia.org/practicing/awards/2011/housing-awards/schermerhorn/index.htm
Spruce Street Project
David Sundberg photographed the newest addition to Lower Manhattan’s skyline, 8 Spruce Street. Designed by Frank Gehry, the 76 story building is the tallest luxury tower in the city. Most striking is the trademark Gehry rumpled steel façade.
www.estoportfolios.com/8spruce
Ezra Stoller Exhibition at Yossi Milo Gallery
Ezra Stoller is the preeminent American architectural photographer. His work defines mid-century modernism. An exhibition of Stoller's photographs opens at Yossi Milo Gallery on January 6 and includes iconic images of major buildings such as Fallingwater, the Guggenheim Museum, the Seagram Building, and the TWA Terminal. In addition, there are lesser-known structures including residential projects, many seen for the first time. This exhibition provides a fresh look at Stoller's masterful eye for describing architecture and creating important documents of social history.
Exhibition runs through February 12, 2011.
Peter Aaron photographs the New York Public Library
Peter Aaron is known as a photographer of architecture and interiors. He is documenting the ongoing restoration at the New York Public Library. With the dedication and skill of a photojournalist he has created lively and engaging images of the craftsmanship, materials and methods involved in the restoration of the historic beaux-arts building.
www.estoportfolios.com/aaron_2011_nypl_restoration
Exhibition in Moscow: NEW YORK NOW
A selection of projects by AIA New York chapter members is on view at the Zodshesvo 2010 Architectural Festival in Moscow. We are pleased that Esto photographed four of these noteworthy structures: Frank Sinatra High School of the Arts (above) photographed by Jeff Goldberg for Ennead; Flushing Meadows Natatorium and Rink photographed by David Sundberg for Handel Architects; St Hilda’s and St Hugh’s School photographed by Peter Aaron and by Albert Vecerka for Murphy Burnham Buttrick; and the DemocracyNow Studios photographed by Peter Aaron for Bogdanow Partners.
New Design Awards
As this year's design awards are announced, we're pleased that many Esto images illustrate the winning entries. For AIA national, regional and state competitions to those sponsored by publications, and professional and trade organizations, Esto photographers have supplied commendable work in many categories: housing, education, urban design, landscape. A selection of the new awards is posted on the Award section of the site.
Albert Vecerka Photographs The Diana Center
Albert Vecerka photographed the new Diana Center at Barnard College for Weiss/Manfredi Architects. In conjunction with the assignment, he created a video tour of the campus and of the building.
www.estoportfolios.com/diana_center/
Anton Grassl Photographs MIT Media Lab
In the winter Anton Grassl photographed the new MIT Media Lab. The assignment was commissioned by the architects, Maki Associates with Leers Weinzapfel. The initial photographs were made before the building was completely finished in order to be included in an exhibition in Japan.
A number of Anton’s images of the building are now part of a display of drawings and photos on view in the lobby of the MIT Media Lab on the corner of Ames and Amherst Streets in Cambridge. This exhibition will continue through September.
One of Anton’s photographs the Media Lab will be in The Architect’s Newspaper in April with full coverage to be published in The Architectural Record in July.
Esto in Mexico
At one point last month, there were three Esto colleagues in Mexico. Peter Aaron and Francis Dzikowski were photographing a private residence near Cabo San Lucas. Jeff Goldberg was in Mexico City, documenting the new St Regis Hotel. There he made this photograph of a man selling newspapers in the street. We have the image…and wish we had the whole outfit.
Recent Work by Esto Photographers
The Esto photographers have been working on interesting projects in the last few months.
Anton Grassl’s new assignments range from photography of the world’s largest cruise ship, Oasis of the Sea, to the soon-to-be-completed MIT Media Lab by Fumihiko Maki and Leers Weinzapfel. He has been photographing on a number of new college and university buildings for Goody Clancy, for Cannon Design, and for Shepley Bulfinch Richardson Abbott.
In the fall, Peter Aaron documented the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, designed by EHDD, and the Noguchi Museum for Sage & Coombe Architects; he has photographed several residential projects and Miller Hall at William & Mary College for Robert A M Stern Architects. Recently he photographed the new Apple Store at 67th Street and Broadway in New York, designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.
David Sundberg has spent the last month or so looking down, from the tops of mid-town skyscrapers as he was photographing the Met Life Building for Tishman Speyer. To see David on the Chrysler Building go to Photographers, and click on David Sundberg. On the ground, he worked at Citi Field and at Yankee Stadium, and documented a corporate project and two at the Bronx Zoo for FXFOWLE.
Francis Dzikowski spent most of October in Egypt, continuing his interest in and photography of archaeological sites. He photographed the new Victoria’s Secret store in Chicago for The Limited recently. Earlier in the year he did two projects for Leo A Daly, the McPherson Building in Washington DC and the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Arlington VA.
Albert Vecerka has documented several prototype stores and supermarkets for Lippincott including Walmart in Jacksonville, FL, and Supermercado in Houston. For Studios Architecture, he made beautiful images of the Dow Jones offices in New York. Time Magazine commissioned coverage of the factory, store and delivery facilities for Green Apple Cleaners, the environmentally friendly dry cleaning establishment. Albert also shot the Purple Yam Restaurant for WxYArchitects.
Peter Mauss, after photographing the New Acropolis Museum for Bernard Tschumi, continues to work on gardens and landscape for the Olin Partnership, Ken Smith and for the New York Restoration Project, and to photograph signage and environmental graphics for Pentagram.
Jeff Goldberg has photographed several new buildings for Polshek Partnership recently, including the Standard Hotel in New York City, the Vukovich Center for Communications at Allegheny College, the Dickinson School of Law at Penn State and Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, a public high school in Queens. For Pelli Clarke Pelli he worked on the Visionaire
New New York 6: Photography Corps
Esto is collaborating with the Architectural League and the New New York Photography Corps, a group of more than 100 volunteers whose images will be shown in New New York 6, a major winter exhibition. Loosely conceived along the lines of the WPA projects of the 1930s, the project offers architects and those in related fields, but who are not professional photographers, an opportunity to document the changing face of the city since 2001.
The group met at the Urban Center on September 22 to outline the scope of the project and to embark on a two-week trial period, which will give participants a chance to become familiar with the project and with the submission and review process.
An October meeting is being arranged; the time and place are to be announced. Participants will review the submitted images and Esto photographers will offer professional feedback. Specific assignments for the New New York exhibition will be distributed at that time.
For more information, please visit
archleague.org/2009/09/new-new-york-6-1000-blocks-photography-corps/#respond
Jeff Goldberg Photographs The High Line
Jeff Goldberg Photographs the High Line
The High Line is an exciting, new public park built on the long-unused, elevated freight tracks on Manhattan’s West Side. James Corner, Field Operations, designed the landscape with architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro. The first section, from Gansevoort Street to 20th Street, is now open.
Jeff photographed a walk through the park with particular emphasis on The Standard Hotel that he’s been photographing for the architects, the Polshek Partnership. The images show people moving through the space with new vantage points to the city below, beyond and around them.
Goldberg lives on the West Side of Manhattan. He will continue to photograph The High Line, his neighborhood park, as it the section to the north is completed and as the whole park grows and changes.
www.estoportfolios.com/goldberg_2009_highline/
Peter Mauss Photographs The New Acropolis Museum
Peter Mauss was in Athens in May, just a few weeks before the opening of the
new Acropolis Museum, to photograph the project for the architect, Bernard
Tschumi.
The long-awaited, steel and glass museum is both an art
museum displaying objects from the Parthenon and a strong statement about
the sculpture that isn't there. Among the important Greek objects in the
British Museum are 56 of the 96 pieces of the Partnenon freize.
Mauss's photographs describe the building and its relationship to the Parthenon. The images explain the architecture with the materials, the use of light and space and the display areas. Although the opening was just a few weeks away, Peter had to work in construction at the site; his images are a testimony to resilience and problem-solving abilities
of an architectural photographer.
www.estoportfolios.com/mauss_2009_acropolis/
Peter Aaron: AIA Collaborative Achievement Award
Peter Aaron has been awarded a 2009 Collaborative Achievement Award by the American Institute of Architects. The formal presentation will take place on April 30 at the AIA convention in San Francisco. In nominating Peter Aaron, John Belle, FAIA, wrote: “The relationship between an architect, as a building's prime author, and an architectural photographer, as the visual interpreter of its ultimate shape and form, can be greatly influenced by their mutual respect for each other's work”. “He is an expert observer,” adds Robert A. M. Stern, FAIA, in his recommendation. “He does not simply record work; he interprets it, helping all of us, including the architects….understand what has been created.”
Aaron, who received a BA in physics from Bard College and an MFA from the New York University Institute of Film and Television, has been photographing architecture and interior design for over 30 years. His work combines cinematic style with architectural photography techniques. Now, working with digital capture, his well-composed, trademark images are extraordinarily lively and luminous.
Peter Aaron has been represented by Esto throughout his architectural photography career. He has worked around the world for most major design firms. Aaron’s images frequently appear in the books and magazines, and he is a contributing photographer for Architectural Digest. His portfolio is available under the Assignment section of this site. Peter Aaron lives in Brooklyn and Hudson NY with his wife, Brooke Allen, and their two daughters.
Metropolis Magazine interviews Peter and profiles his work in the April issue.
www.metropolismag.com/story/20090415/the-art-of-collaboration
Francis Dzikowski Exhibition: Public Art New York
Francis Dzikowski photographed New York City sites for Jean Phifer’s new book, "Public Art, New York", published by WW Norton. Images from the book project were on display at the Center for Architecture in New York in the spring of 2009.
The photographs illustrate the wide variety of works of public art in the five boroughs of New York City and include monumental sculpture of outdoor plazas and decorative sidewalks, sculpted facades, and evocative lighting. These images expand the understanding of how art can complement and enrich architecture and public space; they reveal the range and richness of the works that enliven New York’s urban landscape.
Francis Dzikowski studied at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and has a BFA in Photography from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. A formative part of is experience as a photographer involved documenting archaeological and historical sites in Israel, Egypt and Turkey. He worked on the Theban Mapping Project at the excavation of the Tomb of the Sons of Ramesses II in Luxor’s Valley of the Kings and photographed a Theban tomb for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
For the past five years, Francis has lived in Brooklyn and has been concentrating on architectural photography. Dzikowski approaches his work with clarity and understanding; his images capture and convey the essence of each project.
Click on the link below, and scroll down to page 12, to see ASMP Book Review.
asmp.org/pdfs/bulletins/2009/fall09.pdf
New Demo Videos
Esto has been working on a few video projects as a new way to convey information about space and light. A number of the photographers are collaborating with exhibition designers on interactive and video displays so there are more to come.
The first one of these “movies” was the result of relentless problem-solving. Albert Vecerka had been asked to photograph the construction of the KieranTimberlake Cellophane House, at the Museum of Modern Art Show, “Home Delivery”. Shooting over time, from the roof of the construction trailer, the images from his home-made web cam show the house being assembled: www.estoportfolios.com/vecerka_2008_cellophane
A second video, again using Albert Vecerka’s images, tracks a building in Brooklyn from the burned out shell of an old public school to the Excellence Charter School. Robert A M Stern Architects worked with the Robin Hood Foundation. To see this dramatic transformation: www.estoportfolios.com/excellence
Ezra Stoller: Man and Machine in Washington
Ezra Stoller is the pre-eminent American architectural photographer. Less well known are the industrial and commercial photographs made during his long career. A new exhibition of Stoller's work, "Man and Machine", is on view at 1050 K Street NW in Washington. This selection includes images of factory workers, construction sites and busy offices capturing the optimism and economic growth in the United States after World War II.
Nina Rappaport, the critic and historian, selected images from the Esto archive for this exhibition. In her introduction, Rappaport writes, "Through his photographs Stoller reveals perspectives that either illuminate technological achievements or capture mechanization of the workplace and relationship of workers to their individual task".
Ezra Stoller (1915-2004) studied architecture and began his photography career in the late 1930s. In the following decades, in addition to photography of buildings, he documented projects for Fortune Magazine, Upjohn Pharmaceuticals, IBM and for other corporations and publications.
With the clarity of vision and strong composition developed through his concentration on works of architecture, these images of industry and infrastructure demonstrate a broader point of view in Stoller’s work than has been realized in the past and clearly position him as one of the major American photographers of the 20th Century.
In the fall, a second group of Stoller's photographs, “Inhabiting Architecture”, will be installed at 1050K Street. Considered together, the two exhibitions provide the most complete view of Stoller's work to date.
1050 K Street is a new LEED Gold building designed by HickokCole. The photographs are installed in the lobby which is open to the public, in the Penthouse Gallery and other sites through the building. By appointment. Weekdays, 9-5. March through August.
Peter Mauss New Book: “Listening to Stone”
Artisan Books published “Listening to Stone”, the second collaborative book featuring the work of Dan Snow, Vermont dry stone waller, and photographs by Esto’s Peter Mauss. The book covers projects made from 2000 to 20007. Dan wrote the descriptive text; Peter’s photographs show the stone work in relation to the surroundings and with details s well.
Esto Collaboration with ARTstor
ARTstor is affiliated with the Andrew W Mellon Foundation and maintains an academic, online database of images dealing with art history and architecture that is accessible to faculty, students and libraries of subscribing institutions. www.artstor.org
Esto has been collaborating with ARTstor for several years to scan and make available the complete body of the work of Wayne Andrews (1913-1987). www.artstor.org/what-is-artstor/w-html/col-esto-andrews.shtml
For Ezra Stoller’s photographs, major 20th Century architects were selected and, of that group, every building and then every single image of each project was included in the ARTstor collection. www.artstor.org/what-is-artstor/w-html/col-esto-stoller.shtml
The initial ARTstor selection concentrated on black and white images. Now, additional color images by Stoller material, dealing with architecture, design, industrial images and social history are being added to the archive.