What happens when buildings die: Recent demolition photography
For the past year I’ve been shooting some really interesting projects for specialist contractor General Demolition. It’s given me the chance to visit buildings either in the last throes of their life or about to undergo radical change.
It has provided plenty of food for thought. On the one hand, it’s great to see new life being injected into buildings, and I’m always impressed by the fact that virtually everything taken out is reused or recycled. But there’s also the flip side, where fit-outs are being ripped out after only a few years, reminding us that while we often think of bricks and mortar as being permanent, our cityscapes and interiors are in a state of constant flux, at the whims of commerce and changing trends.
Anyway, I thought I’d share a selection of my images, converted into monochrome because that’s the way I like things at the moment. Hopefully they convey the slightly melancholic atmosphere of so many of these demolition sites. There’s also something archaeological about the way buildings are stripped back, layer by layer.
Former banking hall of Midland Bank HQ by Lutyens
Lobby of the vault at Midland Bank HQ
Boardroom at Midland Bank HQ - the tapestries are amazing
Boiler room atop King's Reach Tower, former home of IPC Magazines
Stripped-back floor at King's Reach Tower
Citicape House, Farringdon, stripped back prior to planned demolition
Cellular Offices at Citicape House, prior to removal
Former DEFRA offices in Westminster
Raised floors being lifted at DEFRA
The Fish, Fruit, Vegetable and Flower building at Smithfield Market
The Fish, Fruit, Vegetable and Flower building at Smithfield Market
The Fish, Fruit, Vegetable and Flower building at Smithfield Market
Caxton House, Farringdon
Slough Brunel Bus Station and Car Park - as featured in the opening sequence to The Office
The Bus Station is being demolished as part of massive regeneration of Slough town centre
Time for exit
This used to be a toilet at Hog in the Pound, South Molton Street
The atmospheric stripped-out basement of the Hog in the Pound pub
2 Comments
Name
second to last photo is not a toilet in the hog. toilets were located in the basement and had no windows
24 Apr 2012 05:04 pm
admin
Staff toilets I believe or loos serving the upper floors (there might even have been some accommodation up there).
24 Apr 2012 06:04 pm
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