Brighton Dome Corn Exchange

Posted on June 16, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

Brighton Dome Corn Exchange

This marks the second anniversary of my photo of the week. Please get in touch if there has been a favourite of yours over the past 85 photos that I have sent out. Just as two long projects finish (one year at Southover Grange and two years at the Depot Cinema), another very interesting one comes along. I am excited to be documenting the renovations of the magnificent, nationally-important Brighton Dome

Corn Exchange. Built in 1808 as a riding house by the Prince of Wales (later King George IV), it sits alongside the Dome (originally a vast stable block), and predates the adjacent Royal Pavilion by several years. I will be photographing the building work over the next 15 months the project will take to complete, so you will be seeing many more photos of this fascinating building.

Martin Freeman visits the Depot

Posted on June 2, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

Martin Freeman visits the Depot

Here it is, opening night at the Depot Cinema in Lewes… I have spent two years documenting the journey of this disused brewery depot as it became a state-of-the-art cinema. Starting with an empty shell of remnants of an industrial past and old studio spaces, I photographed its dismantling and building up again into a light-filled, spacious and beautiful building. Five years in the planning, the vision of a community cinema and arts venue has finally come to fruition. If feels like a most generous gift as been bestowed on the people of Lewes, giving them a building and gardens that welcome the public to sit, talk, drink and eat and three cinemas that offer films to entertain, challenge and expand horizons.

As befits a grand opening, we had our brush with celebrity with the arrival of Martin Freeman, world-renown star of the film and tv worlds, along with other stars of the music, film, tv and literature worlds. Martin signed autographs to the waiting crowds (including one boy in a deerstalker hat, a nod to Martin’s role in Sherlock), mingled with guests and then officially opened Screen One with a q & a with Robert Senior, the Depot’s chair of trustees. The warm summer evening, the glamorous guests and the spacious and gracious building put little Lewes on the map for a night.

Stephen Lawrence Trust Centre stairway

Posted on May 18, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

Stephen Lawrence Trust Centre stairway

Today’s photograph was taken in the stairway of the Stephen Lawrence Trust Centre building in London. I have chosen it for this week’s photo for two of reasons. Firstly, beautiful new designs were revealed yesterday by Gensler Architects for the internal changes to the building that will transform the centre into a co-working hub for up-and-coming architects. An event to be thoroughly celebrated. Secondly, I chose it for

the rich colours of the walls, the dramatic lighting and angles, the sun glancing in onto the yellow paint, and the window that frames the park like a picture where you might just be able to see a woman walking her pram by a bright red bench. Over the next few months I will be documenting the implementation of the new design changes to the Centre and will be sure to share them with you here. You can find more information about the important work of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust here.

Southover Grange is open

Posted on April 21, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

Southover Grange is open

The renovation of Southover Grange is complete and awaiting its first event. It looks beautiful and glamorous and I envy the couples who will be using it to celebrate their weddings. I began documenting the restoration of this Tudor manor in the centre of Lewes as the builders were moving in and returned to the site several times over the following 12 months. It is a rambling house with an interesting history and an important role in the fabric of the town. This was the registry office for many years (and is now again) so it was a place of weddings and the recording of births and deaths.

One of the most significant aspects of this project for me was how my photographs triggered memories that people felt compelled to share. I heard from numerous residents about their personal connections to the house, including several whose parents were caretakers and for whom the upstairs flat was home. A couple of registrars also came forward with anecdotes about years of working at the Grange and the countless weddings they performed. I like that a building can hold so many positive associations for a community and that my photographs have the potential to bring them to life. My exhibit of this project is still showing at Pelham House in Lewes until the 23 May. All my Southover Grange photographs can be found here.

Stephen Lawrence Trust Centre

Posted on March 23, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

Stephen Lawrence Trust Centre

This striking window by the artist Chris Ofili is at the Stephen Lawrence Trust Centre in London. The building is about to be transformed into a thriving co-working hub for start-ups in the built environment.

I will be there documenting the entire process along the way. This photo is from my first shoot at the centre, at the begining of the project. More of my photographs of the centre can be found here.

Raking shadows at the Depot

Posted on March 16, 2017June 1, 2018 by photograph

Raking shadows at the Depot

So often my visits to the Depot Cinema are in brilliant sunshine and this week’s shoot was no exception. The warm spring sun was streaming into the building, casting raking shadows across the floor of the new cinema restaurant. What with the blue protective film still on the windows, the large Xs marked in tape, the rectangular blocks of floor

covering and the one lone builder, the scene was awash with angular shadows and light. More photos from this shoot can be found here. For almost two years I have been documenting the refurbishment of this old brewery depot in the centre of Lewes as it becomes a new community cinema. My client uses the photos to build on the excitement of the local residents and film buffs.

Category: architecture and renovation