Splashpoint Leisure Centre Construction.

Currently under construction and due to finish soon is the new Splashpoint Leisure Centre in the seaside town of Worthing.  After a bit of to-and-fro, I finally made it down to the site on a very cloudy and cold day.  The forecast was for fine spells in the afternoon but they didn’t eventuate.

Wilkinson Eyre Architects designed the new pool complex and it is being constructed by Morgan Sindall.  The complex comprises of a 25 metre six lane pool, a learner/diving pool with a variable depth, indoor leisure pools with hydro slides and an outdoor paddling pool. For the non swimmers a health and fitness centre, café, crèche and what I was told were dance rooms complete the building.

The unique copper cladding was definitely a talking point for many of the contractors on site and lead to a couple interesting conversations regarding the use of the material as a cladding.  I was also bombarded by a few local residents voicing their opinions about the project whilst having a coffee break in a nearby cafe. I guess you can’t please everyone!  I thought it was pretty cool and look forward to seeing what effect the salt air has on the copper cladding a few months from now.

 

 

Docklands – London

Originally I had intended on creating a few images of The Shard from some scoped out vantage points, but with a layer of smog clouding the shot, this proved impossible. It was a beautiful blue-sky day so I headed to London’s docklands to check out the Emirates Airline Cable Car instead.  The cable car, designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects, was finished in June of this year ready for the Olympics and it connects South London to the North from Greenwich Peninsula to the Royal Docks.  Located beneath the cable car on the Northern bank is Siemens Urban Sustainability Centre, also known as The Crystal, and also designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects. Awarded a BREEAM Outstanding rating the building incorporates a number of sustainable design and construction elements including high performance glazing, rainwater harvesting, ground source heat pumps and photovoltaic panels to name a few.

Gardens By The Bay – Sneak Peak

For the past 2 years I have been documenting the progress of Gardens by The Bay, a 54 hectare garden project in the Garden City of Singapore. The project is due for completion in June 2012 but this November National Parks Board opened it’s doors for a sneak preview to coincide with the World Orchid Conference hosted by Singapore.

This ‘soft’ opening gave me the opportunity to finally capture a portion of the completed gardens. It was quite surreal composing images including layers of people on building on landscape when I had spent 2 years shooting a construction site. The addition of people adds an extra element to the shots and I enjoyed capturing the public experiencing this extraordinary place. I can’t wait to shoot the completed gardens next year. For now, this will have to do!

Welcome to the Flower Dome.

The Flower Dome with the shading deployed.

Spectacular by night as well.

Inside the Flower Dome.

View taken looking down from The Baobabs.

The Gridshell is impressive from every angle (above) and The Canopy illuminated at night.

The Main Gardens were popular.

The new addition to Singapore’s skyline as viewed from Marina East.

 

Gardens By The Bay – Visit 2

May 2010 – As you will see from the images below the Cool-Dry Conservatory construction is progressing extremely fast.  More arches are being erected every week.  The gridshell, which is a self supporting structure, can be seen behind the white, unpainted arches.  The red structure is called a ‘crash deck’ and is a temporary structure to support the arches and gridshell during erection.  This is a major piece of engineering on it’s own.

Gardens By The Bay – Wilkinson Eyre Architects – Singapore

April 2010 – I have started documenting the construction of two large conservatories designed by UK Architects, Wilkinson Eyre Architects.  They form part of the new Gardens By The Bay development in Singapore.  Each conservatory has it’s own role to play in the scheme of the entire 54 hectare garden at Marina South.  The cool-dry conservatory will explore issues related to plants and people, whilst the cool-moist conservatory will focus on plants and the planet.

The Cool-Dry Conservatory under construction.