Architecture – Page 18

Underhall

2012-Jul-112012-Jul-11 adohertyhLeave a comment

UCB’s Tolman Hall has a surprising number of urban legends surrounding its uniquely 1960’s appearance. The building is overcrowded and soon to be renovated, but I have to admit that it has a certain charm when the evening light bounces through concrete surfaces of its breezeway. The blues and greens of the shadowed campus and the golden sunset colors are appealing, to be sure, but it’s really the textures that I find so fascinating. The combination of precast and cast-in-place concrete means that there are at least four different textures here, each one reflecting and scattering light in its own, unique way.

Both Sides of the Bay

2012-Jul-06 adohertyhLeave a comment

The Bay Area has a set of dichotomies that I’ve always loved fitting into photographs. Here, we have the elegance of San Francisco herself, with towers and an array of sailing boats, contrasted with the decay of the East Bay and its own host of boats.

Rain on the Plaza

2012-Jun-27 adohertyh1 Comment

Today’s image is the result of a little experiment I did, in which I limited myself to shooting only with a simple prime lens. This is perhaps my favorite image that stemmed from the experience: Berkeley’s historic Lewis Hall on a rainy afternoon. The reflections from the wet concrete buildings, the grid of the plaza’s brick pattern, and the intricate array of the hall’s windows combine to produce such a strong sense of place. In contrast with these hard, angular, man-made structures are the curves of the redwood trees. Would the picture have been better, had I taken it with a wide-angle zoom lens? I’m really not sure.

Arcs of Transport

2012-Jun-25 adohertyhLeave a comment

Just around the corner from one of my favorite buildings, I found this spot where the curve of a footpath mirrors the curve of the passing road. The last moments of the day make for tiny beams of sunlight around my feet and tapping the tops of trees across the road. The start of summer is a perfect time in California.

Boat House Chaos

2012-Jun-22 adohertyhLeave a comment

Oakland isn’t always the most gorgeous place to behold, with more than its fair share of graffiti-laden, disused industrial areas. (You can see little hints of them for yourself in today’s shot.) When I get down to the San Francisco Bay, and the tenor changes, I can appreciate it so much more. Unlike the east seaboard of the U.S., much of which has a consistent architectural style, the Bay is a mish-mash of little buildings that fulfilled whatever roles were needed when they were constructed. I get a warm, satisfied feeling from the way the chaotic clutter of boats separates the sometimes-distressing Oakland from the clean, crisp water of the Bay.

CALIENTE!

2012-Jun-20 adohertyhLeave a comment

San Diego’s Civic Center, as I’ve shown previously, is a pretty surreal place. There’s certainly a feeling that you’re supposed to be in the nexus of the city’s of law and justice, but literally just around the corner, the buildings are plastered with signs for race tracks and the curbs and lined with homeless folks. I liked the way this image showed the broad sidewalks mostly abandoned, with only traces of waking life here and there.

Palace of Knowledge

2012-Jun-01 adohertyh2 Comments

Berkeley’s campus becomes oddly, frighteningly empty during the late spring. By the time summer rolls around, more students return to attend summer classes and the campus runs on a skeleton crew. In the time between the end of final exams and the start of the summer semester, however, only professors and graduate students dare to roam the halls. In this context, the enormous (but now mostly-empty) buildings remind me of the decaying palaces of some deposed monarch. School is dead! Long live school!

Hearst Mining Building

2012-May-312012-May-29 emceehammrLeave a comment

One of my favorite places on campus (or it used to be before the flurry of construction activity around it) is the Hearst Mining Circle, just opposite the chemistry quad on U. C. Berkeley’s campus. In particular the reflecting pool and lawn in front the historic (and fascinating — there used to be a tunnel to the Hayward fault from there) Hearst Mining Building make a great combination, especially on a sunny day such as the day this shot was taken.

Berkeley Public Library, North Branch

2012-May-24 emceehammrLeave a comment

The Berkeley Public Libraries recently remodeled their north branch, nestled at the bottom of the Berkeley hills in North Berkeley. It’s actually quite attractive, in stark contrast to a lot of the public buildings in the east bay.

Behold, the Tomb!

2012-Mar-24 adohertyhLeave a comment

Today is a more unusual shot of UC Berkeley’s Hearst Memorial Mining Building. As with so many other buildings on campus, the terrain and topology of surrounding the building have changed radically since it’s initial construction, with each shift requiring an adaptation to the landscaping and lower structure of the building to maintain access without violating the original design too severely. In this case, however, a fairly functional combination of tunnel entrance and stairs looks uncannily like some sort of ancient tomb. I keep waiting for Indiana Jones to come sprinting out past the ash trays with an enormous boulder rolling close behind him.

The Edifice

2012-Mar-22 adohertyhLeave a comment

This is the imposing Latimer Hall in UC Berkeley’s College of Chemistry. On this stormy afternoon, the sky and the bare tree and the building itself all took on this similar cast, but with such radically different textures and shapes. If you look carefully, the cracks and stains under each balcony level begin to resemble the geometry of the tree.

Maintenance Building Detail

2012-Mar-19 emceehammrLeave a comment

This shot comes again from the Maintenance Building over the Caldecott Tunnel. It was a gray day and the building is all gray so I decided to play with some HDR in black and white.

Oxford Research

2012-Jan-28 adohertyhLeave a comment

Today, I’m posting another photograph of UC Berkeley’s greenhouses at their Oxford Research station. This area has a bizarre mix of well-maintained, modern facilities along with others that look as though they haven’t been touched since the 1960’s. The vibe reminds me a bit of certain levels in Portal 2. More than anything, it’s amazing that I was able to stand around in the parking lot of this fascinating place for 20 minutes taking photos.

The Neighbors

2012-Jan-262012-Jan-26 adohertyhLeave a comment

I’ve always loved the little details of a gorgeous house–the tiny trim pieces, or the leaded glass windows. This particular shot reminded me of playing in the yard as a child. In the winter time, the sun set before dinner, so when the time came to head in, the house had this unearthly blue glow that made the warm light from inside so much more inviting.

(Sub)Urban Decay

2012-Jan-102013-Aug-16 adohertyhLeave a comment

I took a walk through suburban Berkeley at dusk. There’s a great moment, right as the sun sets, and the scattered light from the sky lights up every window. Try clicking on this photo and viewing the full size–there’s a different interesting reflection in almost every window of the house. The Edwardian architecture that influenced many of Berkeley’s older homes is on display in this photo, though it’s a shame to see such a beautiful house a bit run-down.

While I was walking, I also met these young gentlemen. They wanted me to take their picture, and I agreed to post it on the blog for them.