Architectural Photography by Richard Anderson

I’ve been scouring around the web for a little architecture today, with Andrew Geller from my last post sitting in the back of my mind. I enjoyed putting this piece together so much that I wanted to ensure I found something today that felt like it would present equal measure of ingenuity and design consideration whilst being original, I knew it was going to be a difficult act to follow. I’ve previously tended to centre my architectural posts around one particular build and designer, however this task would call for a change of tack – curating the idea of many designers into one school of thought was the way forward I decided. Eventually I landed myself on the profile of architectural historian Richard Anderson who’s created quite the portfolio of landmarks he’s visited, featuring some of the finest designers the world has seen in my humble opinion, exactly what I was looking for. Many of the names seen above and below have been featured within our platform several times before so I’m sure I’m not unearthing too many new faces to frequent followers, I will say however it was good fun to revisit these greats from the fresh perspective of Richards photographs. It’s quite rare to stumble upon so many beautiful buildings within one webpage, he’s obviously had the pleasure of touring around and comparing the modernist approaches of the worlds best, I’m just grateful that he’s taken the time to document these for us all to enjoy.

There is actually one that I have to hold my hands up and admit I’ve not stumbled across before, which you can see in the fourth image down – the Elecktrozarodskaia metro station in Moscow. Vladimir Gelfreich and Igor Rozhin completed this after Vladimir Schuko past away in 1939 prior to the project being completed in 1944. The outbreak of the Second World War disrupted the completion of the project somewhat, however a combination of the original plans with the rows of circular incandescent and the fresh ideas of Gelfreich and his young apprentice Rozhin reaffirmed the iconic public space. I’m not sure everyone will instantly notice the sculptures on the adjoining walls but I think these are a wonderful touch in the remembrance of those who passed in the war.

Each of these builds are unique in their own right, from the freeform shape of Gehry’s concert hall to the poise and clarity of Ando’s design at Fortworth, they all do hold one common thread in particular though and this is the timeless nature of their stature. Considering each on a visual level you can’t place exactly when they’ve been designed, Louis Kahn’s creation above looks like it was built yesterday, it feels modern when in fact it’s over 30 years old. One way I always try to measure design by is wether or not what is in front of me provokes a question, if it does then in my opinion something can be improved. These however provoke no questions, just silence and admiration, often a smile. Good design should do that, so if you take this stance too I’d recommend a browse through Richard Anderson’s portfolio via the link below – Enjoy!

www.flickr.com/richardanderson

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