Last night I was at a talk at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) where we were treated to a look at some of the hidden treasures in their photograph archives. We saw original works from the mid 1800's from photographers such as Maxine du Camp, Edouard Baldus and lots more.It was fascinating to follow the different photographic styles through the decades up to the current style in architectural photography. During 1969 and 1970 the publication Architectural Review ran a series of articles under the title Manplan, the style changed to that of photo journalism showing people relating to the spaces created. Often taken in the rain or mist and generally in black and white. The architects who designed the buildings were pretty miffed at this, preferring their buildings to be shown as icons of beauty, glossy coloured images on sunny days.
Then came the images that looked more like graphic design focusing on details of buildings rather than the whole.
In addition to their incredible archive they have exhibitions, currently showing is "a place to call home". It runs until 28 April so get over there this week, not only to see the work but also the building. A beautiful art deco building. My image today is a pane of glass from the door on the fourth floor.
