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Accompanying a profile of DCM’s John Denton in WISH, a magazine supplement to the nationally distributed The Australian, were three images of John’s recently completed house in the Yarra Valley outside Melbourne.

According to Wikipedia, “Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of responsibility, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of stewardship, the responsible management of resource use. In ecology, sustainability describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time, a necessary precondition for the well-being of humans and other organisms.

Human sustainability interfaces with economics through the voluntary trade consequences of economic activity. Moving towards sustainability is also a social challenge that entails, among other factors, international and national law, urban planning and transport, local and individual lifestyles and ethical consumerism. Ways of living more sustainably can take many forms from controlling living conditions (e.g., ecovillages, eco-municipalities and sustainable cities), to reappraising work practices (e.g., using permaculture, green building, sustainable agriculture), or developing new technologies that reduce the consumption of resources.”

I’ve lost count of the requests I get from magazines seeking to educate and inform the public on the popular topic of sustainable architecture. We simply love your images but as “we’re a not-for-profit publication” I’m afraid we don’t have a budget for licensing content we publish. So can you just give them to us for nothing? Of course we’d like you to sign this release to allow us use of the images for our printed edition, our electronic edition and also for the downloadable subscription edition archived on our website. Then there’s our Flickr pool, our Facebook page and our Twitter feed. We’ll even credit you!

So tell me, I ask, do you get your electricity for free, did the telephone company just hook up the line you’re calling me from, does the printer donate the paper and his time, does the delivery guy get by on fresh air? Are you working there for nothing? (awkward sound of crickets chirping on the end of the line…)

Because that is exactly what you’re asking me to do.

Like any business, photographers have operating costs too. We’re not making any profit until we meet those basic operating costs. Sending out our work for use by others, particularly when that use generates income (whether directly through sales, or indirectly through advertising click throughs) for somebody else, is tantamount to financial suicide. Strangely, a photo credit doesn’t curry much favour with my banker.

In a practical sense, I wonder how this business model would be greeted at the local grocery store?

Publisher – “I’ll have that carton of milk please”

Grocer – “That’ll be $2.50 thanks.”

Publisher – “Tell you what… I’ll just take it for nothing, shall I? But rest assured, I’ll tell everyone I meet where I got the milk. It’ll be such great exposure for you”

Grocer – “Are you out of your fu%#@*g mind?”

By way of illustration, I was recently forwarded this book cover by an architect client, asking if I’d licensed this usage. Neither the architect or the project, which was photographed seven years ago, had been credited and he was quite understandably bothered by this omission. While I had been credited with the image, I’d not been contacted about the use and of course, had received no compensation for the use on the cover. Further investigation revealed that the image had been passed from one publisher to another (and possibly to another). My feeling is that the architect may have signed a release for a single use several years ago that has somehow been exploited by the original publisher.

Private Residence, Inverness, California             Studios Architecture

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for supporting the notion of green technology, of environmentally responsible design, of a better and mutually beneficial world. I just don’t think I should be the only one subsidizing it. So when people tell me that they are pursuing the idea of sustainable architecture, I’ve taken to responding that I’m pursuing the idea of sustainable architectural photography.

In my own modest way, I too, am going for green.

In the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, Studio Pei Zhu has completed the OCT Creative Exhibition Center. Located within the ambitious OCT Harbor development, the dynamic forms, both externally and internally, make a great starting point for whatever interpretation each new exhibition will generate. With no overbearing corners demanding attention, one’s eyes are free to gently slide over the the surfaces.

From the architect

“The fluid and energetic form of the museum brings people into the site while still standing alone as a unique building. The cantilever and overhang allow people to pass underneath and around the building to experience the project from all directions. This natural shape and flowing movement reflect back to the water drop as inspiration for the design.

Reflection is an important aspect for the design. A light metal coating is applied to the natural form to reflect the surrounding activity and energy. As the gateway into the rest of the site, the museum reflects the energy, youth, and enthusiasm of the city of Shenzhen. The museum becomes a fluid mirror to the rest of the site and entertainment functions, allowing people to experience the building’s presence and also notice their own engagement with the museum. This reflection allows for people to connect with both the architecture and their own lives.

During the daytime the triangular windows and skylights perforate the naturally inspired surface in a seemingly random pattern that evokes the scattered reflections of light from a surface of water. At night these openings produce scattered light towards the outside. The light splashes from the building like water fireworks for people to enjoy.

The organic form allows for maximum flexibility in the use of the interior. While experiencing the fluid forms and circulation coupled with soft motion and speckled natural lighting throughout the inside of the building, a person is quietly reminded of the smooth water and the harbor beyond the building. This strong connection to the water is experienced whether inside or outside the building.”

Nearing completion in Kuwait City is the 50 story United Towers, designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox. Drawing references from the sea and the sand, the gracefully curved facades are striking against the otherwise (mostly) rectilinear skyline.

I’m picturing a slow motion pan across a crowded beach as a phalanx of red and yellow, burkha-clad lifeguards sprint towards a flailing kid on an inflatable camel.

Roll credits.

Opened at the end of 2010, the Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi was designed by Zaha Hadid to evoke the undulating sands of the desert. 

When approaching the bridge along the new highway, the compressed perspective gives you a distinctly different impression of the long undulating form.

Also completed in Abu Dhabi, Captial Gate designed by RMJM stands adjacent to ADNEC (Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center). The 35 story tower leans 18 degrees to the west as it rises, making it, according to the erstwhile Guinness Book of Records, the world’s furthest leaning man-made tower. All I know is that it played havoc with figuring out the levels on my camera.

At one point in time, Raha Beach, stretching eastward along the Arabian Gulf from Abu Dhabi, was nominated as the largest construction site on the planet. Projects such as Ferrari World and the Yas Island Formula One Grand Prix Circuit justifiably captured the the world’s attention. While several other projects have since completed, when driving around the area recently, it soon became apparent that many of the cranes were either stationary, or gone altogether.

The remarkable Aldar HQ Building challenges the imagination but is still surrounded by great swathes of raw earth. Add a strong crosswind, raining punishing showers of grit and grime upon all in its path and you begin to wonder whether it’s all a strange mirage.

Rubbing your eyes and getting closer to the building only heightens the sense of the surreal.

Still in Singapore, the final phase of Kohn Pedersen Fox’s Marina Bay Financial Center is nearing completion. Continuing the expansion of Singapore’s central business district around towards the Marina Bay Sands, the deep blue glazed MBFC project includes a large public open space that will become a focal point for both business and residential communities alike.

The addition of a third office tower and a second residential tower to the waterside cluster brings with it an extra burst of activity in the public plaza linking the various ground level lobbies and subterranean retail center.

Out in equatorial Singapore, where even the buildings seem to wilt in the humidity, the prolific Daniel Libeskind recently completed his largest residential project to date. Reflections at Keppel Bay is located on the southern side of Singapore, with views across to the new theme park skyline of Sentosa and beyond to the South China Sea.

Comprising six high rise towers ranging from 24 to 41 stories and 11 low rise blocks of 6-8 floors, the development delivered a total of 1,129 units.