A few years ago I got a call from a small architectural firm located in Columbus, Georgia. They asked if I would be interested in photographing a public school in Albany, GA. To be honest, with that being the only information I had with which to start forming opinions, I was thinking this would likely be a typically mundane assignment. I have photographed a number of schools and the majority of them have been thoughtful and well executed but held hostage to the budgets and tastes of school boards who rarely venture out into anything coming close to experimental. Now, think south Georgia and you can easily see how I was forming my opinions.
Imagine my surprise when I started to discover the truth. This was a really cool and interesting thing to shoot. The firm, Andres Allen & Starr, apparently were given a lot of freedom from the Albany school board and I think they did something with a tremendous amount of character and interest.
I mention this now because I just got back from Albany where I shot the Willson Hospice for Perkins & Will and, while I was shooting that assignment, Michael Starr called me about shooting more of their work in Columbus. I have seen some preliminary images of the new projects and I think there is more fun shooting in the future for this firm. The firm now goes by the name 2WR. I love shooting things that are full of interesting angles, forms and textures.
Wow. Great set of images. Nice to see a modern public school building with a compelling design. I am glad the architects hired a photographer who was capable of communicating their vision. Thanks for posting these.
ReplyDeleteBen
I love it. What a fun way to design a school. Hopefully wonderful images like yours inspire future boards and architects to make the most out of their opportunity to design one-of-a-kind public spaces.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year Jim,
ReplyDeleteBeautiful as usual.