Had the couple on the bench in yesterday's photo had the sense to turn around, this is what they would have seen.
Sweet, huh?
I never tire of the place, which is just as well as I have to suffer looking at it all day.
And my walk into the city centre takes me right underneath it.
As it was, yesterday's couple were looking at this ugly office block.
Actually it's an award-winning classic of Brutalism from 1969 and it's where I now work.
This was taken from the Bridge at the back, near the stair tower from the pigeonhole photo. The building is four floors high but it's dug into a steep hill so the back door from the car park is on floor three across the Bridge.
The terrace wraps around three sides and overlooks the river and is a great place to eat lunch.
My own office is up there on the top right (with the open window).
I face forward towards the Cathedral and all I can see out of my window is the Castle (just out of picture on the left), the Clock Tower and the Cathedral all floating above the trees.
Looking out at them is a nice way to de-stress.
Anyhoo … Have a great weekend, y'all.
14 comments:
It is so good to see you settled again, and your favourite views to see every day, you deserve it..
It's not all lunchtime bowling and walks by the river; sometimes - like yesterday - I have to sit in the conference room all afternoon (admittedly with a nice view - it's the room directly under mine that you can see on the right) discussing finance and contracts with boring money people.
But mostly it's pretty groovy.
Yes, you do deserve it. What beautiful views.
It's fun to just sit and watch the sky; there's so much of it from my windows now. Oh, and occasionally I have to get some work done, too.
What a beautiful scene to look at all day! Thank you those images.
My last job, we all prayed for something (something exactly like a cubicle) that was even near a window. One guy refused to move because he could see actual trees if he sat back in his chair at the right angle. Me? I could see them if I turned to the right and looked over my shoulder. Sunlight and shadows - ah, yes, there is a world!
I hope you get to draw up lots and lots of interesting buildings. Please, no Brutalism, though. I've one I've been meaning to post. Ugh.
Speedway, I've had offices, a cubicle (of sorts) and open plan and I find open plan works so much better for an architect's office than the others. There are thirty of us up on the top floor, from senior partners down to fresh-out-of-college gophers and all the admin staff and we all have the same amount of space (lots) and the windows go right around the room so we all have great views. Everybody has instant access to everybody else and when you're designing buildings (a process of group debate as much as of drawing) the open layout really works. It was the same back at the Trust: as soon as we ripped out the old partitions and cubicles, productivity and office happiness went right up.
What a wonderful view of an incredible cathedral. Romanesque, correct? I know you corrected me before. It does seem to be a least later Romanesque as its arches are getting pointy.
Open space is a beautiful thing. I am fortunate to work in a well designed four year old high school. Even though I am in the lower level, I still have lots of natural light.
Thank you for showing us where you work. Maybe not the prettiest building but as you don't have to look at it, that's not so bad. If it functions well, that's half the battle. From the sound of it, (and the looks of your views), it's functioning just fine.
Serious cathedral envy in America... the LDS Temple doesn't count.
Neetzy, the very earliest parts are Saxon/Norman and definitely Romanesque; most of it, however is very early Gothic ("Early English" with some "Decorated"). It's the late Gothic Cathedrals that have the huge showy windows. Norwich was England's second city at the time of the Norman invasion so our Cathedral and Castle were started at the same time as the Tower of London, earlier than in other cities. In my opinion only Notre Dame, Chartres and Durham can vie with Norwich for the most beautiful Cathedral. Salisbury tries to muscle in but it was merely a later copy and the larger "perpendicular" windows just look wrong to me.
Petrea, the office was designed by one of the great post-war modernist architects, back in the days when Socialism mattered and a building's primary purpose was to do public good. The practice I've joined now has a wonderful history of award-winning public buildings. It's just a shame that profit now comes before the finer qualities of public works.
Yes, it's a lumpy ziggurat, clambering up the hill above the river but in its own way it is quite beautiful, and it is perfect for its function. The top storey, always known as The Studio is a fabulous space. You come up a wide central staircase into what feels like a ship's bridge, with spacious work areas all around you, every one with plenty of light and fantastic views. Of course it was designed for drawing board work and now a lot of the time we have to put the blinds down to keep the sun from our monitors, but it's still the most pleasant room I've ever worked in.
Kate, you have your own Cathedrals in the States: the Cathedrals of Commerce. If you have Cathedral envy, I have Chrysler Building envy. Together with the Taj Mahal and the Sydney Opera House it is the world's most beautiful building and I love it.
It sounds wonderful.
I think the perfect building is both beautiful and functional, but if you have to sacrifice one, which one do you choose?
In an old one, it's okay with me if it doesn't function well as long as it's charming--I give the ancient architects a break. In a new one, I'm not so lenient.
I've been slowly working my way through a book by Stewart Brand called "How Buildings Learn," so I may have been influenced by his point of view.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_Buildings_Learn
Really, one shouldn't have to sacrifice either. A beautiful building should function well, no matter what.
Absolutely, Petrea. That's what keeps me doing what I do. I'm fortunate enough to be have been free of venal developers most of my working life and I have some buildings I can look back on with pride because I've not been forced into making that choice.
Your photos are wonderful, and I've really enjoyed reading the comments everyone. Fascinating to learn about the history. Your office being arranged in an open plan sounds ideal for creative work.
It's great for creative work and also because it gives the youngsters nowhere to hide; they have to work instead of skulk in a cubicle texting their friends and playing Farmville.
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