Voluptuous Façade Photo

Photographer’s Note

Again stainless steel here, but now in the capacity just to entice.
Displayed is the curved stainless steel sheeting of the new theatre of the Maison de Folie (2004) on the rue des Sarrazins in the Wazemmes quarrtier of Lille (France). It’s used for music and theatre with a capacity of 750. It also houses an audio recording studio. The main building of the Maison de Folie is an old knitting factory which has also a cultural function –it houses exposition spaces, a restaurant, a hammam (North African type bath house) and office space. The theatre and the modernization of Maison de Folie were designed by Dutch architect Lars Spuybroek (Nox).
The Maison de Folie is a part of the program to revitalize Wazemmes – a multicultural old workers quarter.

In this high contrast b&w shot the façade perhaps lost a part of the transparency and airiness the architect gave this building, but it did retain it’s strong voluptuous and coolly sensuous quality.

In the WS I posted a pic of the main building (the old knitting factory) and the way the architect handled the way it visually connects with the modern theatre.

We visited the Wazemmes quarter in May 2004 when Lille was cultural capital of Europe.

PCS tech: heavily cropped, desaturated, adjusted curves, altered brightness/contrast, USM-ed , frame added and saved for the web.

exif data

Camera Model : KODAK DC4800 ZOOM DIGITAL CAMERA
Exposure time [s] : 1/125
F-Number : F5.6
Exposure program : Aperture priority (3)
Date taken : 2004:05:01 10:04:58
Exposure bias value : 0/1000
Subject distance (m) : 2
Metering mode : Average (1)
Light source : Daylight (1)
Focal length [mm] : 5.9000
Colour space : sRGB
Image width : 2160
Image length : 1440
Sensing method : One-chip color area sensor (2)

Fixfocus, jhm, carper, nwoehnl, Rinie_Hoff, alvaraalto, Isabelle, cmartos, Xalkida, puister, digi-mom, voodoo-girl, abulafia, elmec has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Fixfocus (9377) 2005-02-14 1:55

A good and "graphic"B&W shot,Bert!
Nice composition with all that curves and lines,it shows also the structure and surface very good.
Groeten!
Hermann

antti (0) 2005-02-14 3:53

Ohoh ! Super. I`m so delighted of this one. It goes directly into my heart. It shows, that even technology constractions can be beautiful, when someone has eye to see it and not just use his head as a hatkeeper :). Very elegant work.

jhm (83298) 2005-02-14 6:48

Dag Bert,
Ik heb veel eerbied voor jongere architecten maar dit is niet echt mij stijl, zoiets kon 45 jaar geleden gewoon niet, maar toch wil ik graag de stijl zien van de jaren, dit moet zichtbaar zijn in de straat anders krijgen wij een monotoon gedoe wat ook niet leuk is. Ik denk Bert door deze foto in Z/W te maken hij veel beter uitkomt, en een veel groter perspectief krijgt.
Groeten uit Vlaanderen,
John.

carper (65622) 2005-02-14 12:06

Je blijft me verwonderen Bert,
De architectuur is hier heel goed in te zien in het fantastische lijnenspel,zeer goede keus voor het zwart wit, goed werk

nwoehnl (120) 2005-02-14 14:48

Great architectural abstract, Bert. A compelling textural study with the curved sheeting on the flat wall making a fine ensemble. And you even managed to sneak an amount of perspective into this one. Also the choice of b&w presentation, too. Very good one.

Rinie_Hoff (9334) 2005-02-14 16:48

Hi Bert, fine rendering of this stainless steel facade, it looks like a big 'malien kolder', and the assiciation with the knitting factory in that sense, is obvious to me.
I am reminded of the cultural centre of the Technical university in Delft. I don't know if you've ever been in the main hall there, but that's where you can also see these kind of structures.

alvaraalto (5303) 2005-02-14 17:45

Hallo Bert,
Thanks to the computer (especially the 3D drawing programs and the calculation programs) and the use of new materials, the modern architect has the opportunity of using great multidirectional curved surfaces. This gives the contemporary architecture possibilities never existing before. And Lars Spuybroek shows that he will use them even in contrast with an old building. I think great architecture and a fine picture of that.
Groetjes Rob

Tue (25608) 2005-02-14 19:26

Great shot with very interesting shapes and lines! Great POV which creates a nice composition, well done! :-)

Isabelle (9014) 2005-02-14 19:45

elegant, yes, as your compo usually are, Bert, and it´s interesting the result of having these voluptous forms (coz round > female?) in b&w & steel.
but indeed, it´s aerodinamic and clean and SHARP!
thanks for sharing

danielswalsh (13330) 2005-02-14 20:35

Nice shot Bert;

I like this abstract shot, very appealing to the eye... (hmmm funny that, maybe it was the title...).
I like the different textures in the steel, very good choice for black & white.

Well done!
- Dan

c_kyr (1810) 2005-02-14 22:26

Impressive shot.
the B&W works great.
thanks for sharing!

cmartos (6086) 2005-02-17 5:21

A great abstract architectural one Bert. Not easy IMO, I like the angle/POV as well as the crop you applied here. The various curves imbricate very, very nicely. The same for the structures combination, even reinforced by the choice of B&W, an excellent choice indeed. The lighting is excellent too, also giving much power to the structure. As always an excellent one Bert, added of your touch of technical perfection.

Xalkida (11740) 2005-02-18 15:58

Very nice B&W image Bert! Nice lines, good light. Very well balanced!

ishai (4093) 2005-02-20 4:43

Hi Bert.
After seeing the WS I even liked it even more.
I like the black & white choice here it s very good here with the stainless steel .

The way you captured these curved and the light falling on the concrete plates creates a very special capture.

The crop and tight framing is very good too.

pamastro (7213) 2005-02-21 23:45

That's an interesting facade treatment. From this point of view it has the appearance of some undulating Gehry like building and not a transparent stainless steel covering. It has a nice flow to it in this composition that makes it very interesting and engaging. The point of view is nice to make it solid rather than transparent something I'm sure provides an engaging aspect seeing it in person from different angles and how it changes. The black and white and high contrast also help with the steely feel. It's very cold looking just like steel and very graphic. Excellent work.

voodoo-girl (694) 2006-02-07 16:14

Jolie capture de la facade de la maison folie de Wazemmes. J'habite à coté, donc je suis d'autant plus sensible quand on prend mon quatier en photo. Merci pour cette jolie photo.
Mel

abulafia (4802) 2007-05-05 5:11

Hi Bert
I love the clarity and contrasts in this beautiful facade.
It is a very creative shot that teaches us very well that it sometimes pays of to go close to the details.
Regards
Harry

Stepan (27175) 2007-07-21 23:50

At a first glance, I thought it was a close up on a woman body ! Well realized and strong visual effect.
Stéphane

elmec (12194) 2007-09-10 12:33

Hello Bert!
Great geometrical work!
Tones of grey very good exposed the structure!
I like it!
Best regards!