Stations and Airports

Over the years I have travelled through countless airports and a number of train stations. Though train stations were built decades before airports the architecture catering for the mass transit of people is awe inspiring in both contexts.

Paddington is a regular of mine and it always evokes thoughts of steam trains and pullman carriages

Paddington Station

Airports are equally impressive and have allowed many architects amazing expressions of structure to create grand spaces

Munich Airport

I was in Christchurch Airport earlier this year and was impressed with the detailing in the regional waiting area:

Below are some shots from London Terminal 5, Taipei, Dubai, Hong Kong and Zurich

Museum of Natural History

We’re in London for a few days to get in the festive spirit and today visited the Museum of Natural History. It is probably one of the most photographed buildings in London as the construction is absolutely incredible. Add the skeleton of a blue whale to the entrance hall and its hard to take a bad photo.

The exhibits are amazing but I was more carried away with the architecture.

The B1M

If you haven’t come across this website and YouTube channel then you’re missing out.

Fred Mills and the team put together great quality videos about construction. They take a look at both current projects and also historic projects from around the world.

In 8-10 minutes they provide great bite-sized videos with great footage and informative commentary.

I highly recommend signing up!

Temple of Monte Grisa

We were in Trieste last week for a long weekend and while out walking around the waterfront I caught site of something interesting on the Ridgeline.

Taking a look at the map (on my phone) I discovered the Sanctuary Monte Grisa.

 it is a most conspicuous landmark, seen by many, visited by few

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Monte_Grisa

Before leaving for home we decided to be some of the few and took a detour up behind the city to discover this enormous concrete building set 300m above the sparkling Mediterranean Sea.

It is monumental both inside and out, and for someone who loves concrete as a building material it was great to see a highly geometric structure mixing off-the-form finished concrete and glass.

I just had to use black and white for some of the photos to show the nature of the forms.

Brunel Building

I have been visiting the UK for over a decade and with the Heathrow Express connection I frequently stay around Paddington.

During our recent visit I came across a new additional to the Paddington Basin – the Brunel Building.

The Brunel Building takes both its name and its inspiration from the renowned and influential Victorian civil engineer, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. Surrounded by his rich industrial engineering legacy, including Paddington Station, the building is a flamboyant expression of engineering, with its exposed structure and services.

https://www.arup.com/projects/brunel-building

It truly is a stunning addition to the skyline and the exposed steel skeleton is detailed very carefully creating a great reference to the works on Brunel a century before.

Japan and Singapore

This week I’ve been on the road working on the GRAPHISOFT Salesforce implementation and meeting with our Teams in Japan and Singapore.

This is my third visit to both (or maybe I’ve been to Singapore a couple of times more??) and as always it was great to get out and about.

The photo from the plane is the closest I’ve come to seeing Mt Fuji up close but one day we plan to visit for sure.

Zaha in Rome

I first visited a building by Zaha Hadid a few years ago when I was in Seoul.

During our trip to Rome we pulled out the map and made our way to the MAXXI – National Museum of 21st Century Art.

The irony of the visit was we simply went to see, explore and experience the building and we didn’t check out any of the exhibitions – maybe next time!

The concrete exterior forms are in stark contrast to the sweeping black and white internal stair ways and walkways that connect all the amazing spaces. While I managed some great photographs, you need to physically visit to really feel these grand spaces.

Cadimage and U2

You’re probably wondering what the connection between Cadimage and U2 is, and to tell you the truth it would be a stretch to create one!

However, we’re in Rome at the moment for the U2 Joshua Tree Concert and today when we were exploring the Vatican we came across the Vatican Staircase

Coming across the staircase took me back to 2009 when we were developing the Cadimage brand, with this staircase being the architectural equivalent of the nautilus shell.

It really is an amazing stair case, as is the rich architectural history across the entire city.

A long Sunday

It’s amazing what can be accomplished in a single day! I started the day climbing Mt Manaia (Whangarei, New Zealand) with friends and thanks to long-haul travel and timezones ended it eating seafood at Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco.

I’m in San Francisco attending the Subscribed Conference hosted by Zuora to learn from both the company and its customers about their platform and plans for the future.

I really enjoy San Francisco having first visited in 1997 shortly after joining Cadimage and it was great to get out for a long walk from Market Street across to the Wharf (via the Apple Store) and then a cable-car back to the hotel.