Reflecting on stainless steel

click photo to enlarge
No buildings last forever, though some such as Stonehenge, the Sumerian ziggurats, the Pyramids, and the temples of ancient Greece are probably enduring for longer than their builders imagined. There are a number of features that help to make a building last a long time including peace, reverence for the past, and the materials of which it is constructed. War destroys buildings more effectively than anything else, though in Britain the cultural vandalism of national and local politicians in the name of "improvement" runs it a close second. Understanding the importance of the past results in selected old buildings having a long life, though which are chosen for life-support is somewhat arbitrary, and varies with the period in time.

Building materials used to be more important than they are today when buildings are often expected to stand for less than a century, and sometimes only a few decades. Consequently the materials chosen are frequently transient, and where they have the capacity to be long-lived they frequently don't fulfil their potential. In recent years I have despaired of the fashion in Britain for hardwood cladding, a finish that stains badly and warps in our damp climate, that will rot and rarely looks well on a city building. Stainless steel, a material that should last a long time, is one that I have increasing doubts about. It initially looks sleek but requires cleaning because, despite its name it does mark and stain, and isn't always cleaned as often as is required. The Lloyds building in the City of London was completed thirty years ago and still looks fine due to regular maintenance, but it gets much of its force from its complex shape. Will 5 Broadgate (above), a new London building that gets a lot of its power from its contrast of flawless surface with sharply drawn lines, as well as its silky sheen, disappoint in thirty, forty or fifty years when it is dull and stained?

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Photo Title: 5 Broadgate, London
Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 14mm (28mm - 35mm equiv.) crop
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/400 sec
ISO:200
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Chromorama, 5 Broadgate, London

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In a recent post I remarked how architects who build sharp, angular buildings frequently seek the soft, wayward, natural counterpoint of trees and shrubs. The architectural firm of MAKE and its leader Ken Shuttleworth seem of that persuasion. Today's photograph shows the building at 5 Broadgate, London, with its rigidly etched verticals and horizontals broken by the scribble of the branches of a nearby tree.

But this photograph also shows the other accompaniment that is today the de rigeur addition to expensive offices - sculpture. The Broadgate website describes this piece, "Chromorama" by the London-based artist, David Batchelor, as "totemic" - which it isn't. That word means the mark, badge or totem of a tribe, and by extension a group. Unless the brightly coloured matchbox-like shapes (that illuminate at night) represent bundles of money, then I don't see it being totemic. I think they mean "like a totem pole", and certainly that image came to my mind the instant I saw it. As a piece of sculpture I don't care greatly for Chromorama. But, as a loud burst of colour in a space overwhelmingly steel grey with blue glass highlights, it is a welcome presence.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Photo Title: Chromorama, 5 Broadgate, London
Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 20mm (40mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/320 sec
ISO:200
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Number 5

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About seven years ago I took a photograph in which the most important element was a small number 9, and so that became the title of the accompanying written "reflection" which was about the track of that title on the "White Album" by the Beatles.

No such strong association leaps to mind when I consider the number 5, though I am reminded of reading that the Roman "V" (five) comes from the shape made by the hand with four fingers together and the thumb separate. In fact what is prompted by this massive number 5 on the wall of 5 Broadgate, a massive new tower that will hold six UBS trading floors in London, is the thought of how dystopian it looks. It dwarfs people, appears to be the product of a machine rather than humans, and imposes itself on passers-by in a way that few such numbers do. The whole building is clad in the same stainless steel panels, sharp angular shapes and windows breaking the perfection of the surface. It will be interesting to see how perfect it looks after several years of English weather.The building is an enormous "lump" that overall is a poor contribution to the locality but which has some interesting details that drew my camera.

I took a quick shot of a passer-by to give scale to the enormous number. Unfortunately I framed it badly and the feet of the person got chopped off. We waited for someone else to come along but, after a few minutes no one had come along and so I asked my wife to walk by.

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Photo Title: 5 Broadgate, London
Camera: Olympus E-M10
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 29mm (58mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/100 sec
ISO:200
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On