Our Architectural Photographer visits York University
As an architectural photographer with York as our playground we are spoilt for choice when it comes to old buildings. Victorian, Georgian, Roman, there are structures from the past ten centuries to photograph. There will be plenty of York’s old buildings for you to look at over the next few months but here I’m going to share with you some of York’s more recent architectural heritage.
These photographs have all been taken at The University of York. Only established in 1963 York University is consistently ranked among the best universities in the UK and indeed around the world. A recent expansion into the Heslington East Campus has seen a range of newly designed buildings springing up offering a stark architectural contrast to the 60’s and 70’s buildings on the Heslington West campus.
We photographed two of the newer buildings, the York Sports Village building and the Ron Cooke hub, the central building to the Heslington East expansion. Architecturally they contrast and complement each other in equal measures. The Ron Cooke Hub, completed in 2010 at a cost of £15m shares a similar sweeping roofline to that of the York Sport Village building. The water at the Sports Village is all inside whereas the boardwalk and floating study pods connect the Ron Cooke Hub with its waterfront location. Another building in the older campus also benefits from a waterside location.
The central hall, an excellent example of mid-century brutalism, will no doubt have many haters. In fact the independent named it amongst Britain's top ten ugliest buildings. You may have read previously that I have a bit of a soft spot for mid-century design. So it will come as no surprise when I say I think this is a great building. I think it is a shame that re-cladding has taken place and so the pattern and colour of the concrete is no longer playing its role. It’s a building to experience, the water level walkway and bridges create an environment most of us aren’t used to on a day to day basis.