First photos ever taken of the Corn Exchange ceiling

Posted on June 5, 2020June 8, 2020 by carlotta

First photos ever taken of the Corn Exchange ceiling

I am so pleased to be able to share this photograph I took of the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange in January. This is the apex of the magnificent vaulted roof. At a height of 34 ft (10.3m), this unsupported structure covers a space of 178 by 58 ft (54 by 17.6m), the widest span timber frame in the country. Legend has it that there were delays to the construction of the building 200 years ago because of the difficulty of finding large enough single spans of roof timber.

This ceiling has never been photographed up close because it has remained too difficult to get to – until now. The wooden platform shown here is laid across the top of the scaffolding birdcage that fills the open space of the Corn Exchange, giving access to the timbers for the first time in 200 years. This enables them to be examined and repaired – and photographed. Lucky me, I got to be the one for the job.

Many more of my photographs of the Corn Exchange restoration can be found here. You can read more about the progress of the work on the Brighton Dome website here.

House with a view

Posted on February 11, 2020February 11, 2020 by carlotta

House with a view

Exactly two years ago I took my first shots of a disused agricultural building in a spectacular setting on the outskirts of Lewes. The interior of the Grain Store was so full of stuff that I had to wait until my second visit to get some inside photos.

I have been documenting this site ever since, watching the ambitious transformation into a beautiful house that makes the most of its surroundings. I always find it satisfying to complete a job like this, knowing intimately the building’s journey and how these new spaces have evolved.

The most extraordinary thing about this house is that it could not be more immersed in the South Downs. Tucked into a hollow, the windows look straight across to a green sloping hill that leads up to the South Downs Way. Seeing the finished and furnished spaces on my final shoot last week, I wanted to move into it, there and then. Actually, I could stay there if I wanted, as it is available as a holiday let. You can find more photos of this project here, and how to rent it here.

Please get in touch if you have a workplace, an event, a celebration, a portrait or a building project you would like to have photographed.

The underwater room

Posted on July 12, 2019July 12, 2019 by carlotta

The underwater room

Building materials can play the strangest visual tricks. This skylight was covered in a blue plastic film that filtered watery light down into the room below. The two light fittings were also wrapped in plastic, somehow making them appear like they were floating up the wall, accentuating the underwater feeling inside the room. I would happily have stayed there soaking up that sense of submersion. Perhaps it relates to all the time I have spent lately in and on the sea.

This watery room is in an old barn that I’ve been photographing for the past couple of years as it becomes luxury holiday accommodation. The Grain Store is nestled right in the midst of the South Downs, surrounded on all sides by soft rolling hills. You can find more photos of this project here.

Please get in touch if you have an event, a celebration or a portrait you would like to have photographed or, of course, a building project documented.

Stephen Lawrence Trust photo award shortlisted

Posted on April 25, 2019June 13, 2019 by carlotta

Stephen Lawrence Trust photo award shortlisted

I was so pleased to find out that my photograph of the Stephen Lawrence Trust Centre has been shortlisted for a photography award. It feels especially significant because this has coincided with the very first Stephen Lawrence Day on 22 April.

“Stephen Lawrence Day is about the part we all play in creating a society in which everyone can flourish. It is an opportunity for children and young people to have their voices heard, make the changes they’d like to see and create a society that treats everyone with fairness and respect.”

I spent a year documenting the transformation of the Centre into a co-working hub that supports up-and-coming architects. When you read the intentions and aims of the Trust in the quote above, I am sure you can see why it was such a privilege to help support their project. You can find out more about the Trust here.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss how we can work together. I deliver photographs that delve deeper than showing just the surface of things.

UPDATE: My photograph came in second place out of a shortlist of 12 in my category.

Lost in space

Posted on January 4, 2019 by carlotta

Lost in space

Wishing you all a very happy New Year! A new year and a 200-year-old ceiling at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange, the redevelopment I have been documenting over the past 18 months. This monumental, unsupported vaulted roof stretches across a room that is 178 by 58 feet. In other words, it is just enormous.

Over the months I have watched while workers manually stripped the paint off of each strut (there are hundreds), and slowly renewed the wood. Now shiny new bolts are reinforcing this 32ft high expanse. More photos of this fascinating project can be found here.

Please get in touch if you would like to discuss how we can work together.

A magnificent window

Posted on September 27, 2018October 2, 2018 by carlotta

Brighton Corn Exchange window

Isn’t this beautiful? It is one of the windows at the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange after refurbishment but still awaiting its many of panes of glass (I just counted space for 185 of them). I have repeatedly been drawn to photographing these huge windows while documenting the redevelopment of this beautiful 200-year-old building. They are magnificent in all their guises, even with broken panes and peeling paint, but to finally start to see them renewed is very pleasing indeed.

Cataloguing with my camera the changes that a building like this undergoes during renovation has many satisfying moments. I find a beauty in all stages of the process, the early messy broken phases through to the clean and ordered final stretch. This build still has a long way to go to completion, but it is offering up glimpses of how spectacular the finished product will be. More photographs of the Brighton Dome Corn Exchange can be found here.

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Tag: architectural renovation