Canaletto by UNStudio / May 27, 2016 by Alex Upton

Development: Canaletto 259 City Road
Architects: UNStudio
Location: City Road, Islington, London
Height: 90m (31fl)

Canaletto 259 City Road - Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Canaletto is a residential tower designed by Dutch architect Ben van Berkel of UNStudio. The building is located at 259 City Road which borders on Islington, The City, Shoreditch and Clerkenwell. Construction is still on going with most of the work now taking place at the base of the tower where the concierge area is being fitted out, these architectural photographs capture Canaletto's current progress.

Returning from a trip to the recently opened Yayoi Kusama exhibition at the Victoria Miro Gallery - which for prospective residents is conveniently located a minuets walk from the Canaletto building along with a McDonald's Drive Thru, a real melting pot of high and low brow culture - i happened to chance upon these beautiful cloud formations passing over the tower. These photographs of Canaletto are the result of me trying to recalibrate my senses after being dazzled by Kusama's infinity mirror installations, which by the way are well worth a visit.

The lucky residents of this tower will have access to a wide range of facilities including what will be a stylish restaurant, private screening room, swimming pool and gymnasium and a 24th floor private club and sky terrace. The innovative design by UNStudio incorporates balconies into the linear and somewhat bulbous chrome clad panels that wrap around the buildings façade, which according to the architects create 'sustainability benefits achieved through surface modelling, with opportunities for shading, balancing good internal daylight and views with reduced heat gains'. Along with their sustainable credentials these panels produce some beautiful forms which for and architectural photographer offer endless opportunities for new and exciting compositions.

Canaletto is located in an area which is currently seeing a lot of developments start to rise, with Foster and Partners 250 City Road residential apartments just beginning to break ground over the road and the adjacent Lexicon building also nearing completion - for which a photograph update will follow shortly.

Tate Modern Switch House by Herzog & de Meuron / May 25, 2016 by Alex Upton

Development: Tate Modern Switch House - Gallery Extension
Architects: Herzog and de Meuron
Location: Southbank, London
Height: 72m

Tate Modern Switch House - Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Architects Herzog & de Meuron's extension to the Tate Modern gallery is now nearing completion and is due to open to the public on 17th June 2016. Named the Switch House, since it is situated of the site of the former electrical substation, the new building will house galleries across 10 floors expanding the Tate Modern's exhibition space to accommodate their ever increasing collection of international art acquisitions.

Having followed the buildings construction progress over the past several years I have long been anticipating the day when the brick-clad structure would finally be revealed, for it has lain hidden beneath the incredibly complex and somewhat beautiful lattice of scaffolding for a considerable amount of time. With that now removed and the crane no longer on site I optimistically ventured down to South Bank on a somewhat cloudy and rainy day, just as I arrived the heavens parted and I was fortunate enough to get some photographs of the external structure in its afternoon glory.

The building is clad in 336,000 perforated lattice bricks which are not only beautiful to admire for the complexity of their combined structure, but also because they allow light and shadows to permeate through the buildings external skin, this is especially noticeable once the internal lights are switched on in the evening.

Its almost hard to know when to stop photographing this building for it formal and surface qualities offer endless opportunities for different compositions, with each revealing something new about the structure. Hopefully next time I return to the site I will take a zoom lens to focus in on the architectural details and brick work. I also look forward to experiencing the artworks on display inside, but i fear they will be dominated by the beauty of their container.

Currently there is still landscaping ongoing at the base of the building which will no doubt open up the area adjacent to Richard Roger's NEO Bankside apartments. I will update more images once the building finally reveals itself later next month. You can find more of my Tate Modern Switch House Photographs under the projects section of my portfolio.