Buckingham arena by WGD architects

Earlier this summer révélateur shot the brand new Buckingham Arena in Downsview Park, Toronto. This was an interesting challenge for us as we had never shot this type of facility before.

WGD Architects designed a four-rink arena for local leagues and events. Based on our scouting shoot, our studio was commissioned to take 10 images of the project. We had our eyes open for the money shots and luckily, the cool, somewhat industrial and utilitarian aesthetic of the building lent itself well to getting great shots. 

View fullsize

Main Lobby

We set out to shoot at the end of the day as we knew this was when the arena was going to be the busiest, giving us plenty of opportunities to introduce the human element in our images. Without people, such a large building would end up looking very empty and cavernous. 

Lucky for us, there were hockey games going on during our shoot so we seized the opportunity to include some motion to the rink photographs by shooting additional frames a slow speeds so we would get the proverbial motion blur that makes architectural shots much more dynamic and is particularly fitting to shooting a hockey arena.

View fullsize

Main Entrance

We learned a lot from this shoot as we were given minimal instructions from the client and had the opportunity to explore some more creative angles, some of which ended up being picked by the architect.

We later on shot another arena for the same client that will be featured here in the coming weeks.

View fullsize

Typical rink (1 of 4)

Little Trinity by DTAH

Earlier this summer, Revelateur was commissioned to shoot DTAH's little trinity project. This is constitutes a good example of adaptive reuse in the city of toronto. This was a fun shoot as it was all about showcasing the interplay between the old and the new. 

View fullsize

Facade on King St. East (at Parliament).

DTAH has a summary of their project here:

"The Little Trinity Church community, founded in 1844 near the corner of King Street East and Parliament Streets in Toronto, developed a building expansion study to investigate the renovation and redevelopment of the three buildings on their site to maximize community worship, social services, and recreational uses in response to the future West  Don Lands development immediately south of their property.

View fullsize

Back of building from garden.

DTAH redeveloped the derelict 19th century townhouses at 399 King Street into the Little Trinity Annex, a new administrative centre and multi-purpose hall for the church community. Renovations in the school house building included the basement multi-purpose hall and ground floor child care spaces to maximize Sunday School capacity and functionality."

View fullsize

Multi-purpose hall.

Although a small project, it was a fun shoot as adaptive reuse presents challenges that are not necessarily evident when shooting other kinds of projects.

View fullsize

Building from garden.

Tips for hiring an architectural photographer #9

This is post 9 of a series of 10, in a series detailing important aspects to hiring an architectural photographer while avoiding the most common pitfalls.

9. CHOOSE EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE. 

Professionalism prevents a lot of headaches. It is often said that the first impression says a lot about a person. Make sure your photographer cares about your needs in more than just words. Their attitude, attentiveness and professionalism should show in everything they do. Make your life easier by choosing someone you can rely on. 

Buckingham Arena, WGD Architects, Toronto.