Great Yarmouth

Yarmouth on a sunny out-of-season day was very pleasant with its two piers, quirky public toilets and varied entertainments from donkey rides to the elegant Venetian gardens. The skyline is dominated by the offshore windfarm. I had a go at focus stacking one of the turbines - not sure why one blade appears stationary!!

Clifton Catholic Cathedral

Planned in the 1960s at the height of brutalism architecture in the UK with construction taking place 1970-73. The  exterior cladding is pre-cast concrete panels of pink Aberdeen granite aggregate, with contrasting white concrete piers marking the angles and portals. Concentric stages of walling rise to a steep double pyramid roof. A cross in a tripartite spire of bevelled fins, rises to 167' . In plan the church is an irregular hexagon subdivided internally into varied polygons. The controlling module for all angles and dimensions is an eighteen inch equilateral triangle; a classical approach giving unity. The exposed white concrete interior was cast in-situ using Russian redwood formwork giving very crisp texture. The concrete was all mixed by one man. The plywood tetrahedra in the nave ceiling are part of the acoustic scheme.

Architectural Colours and Reflections

 I am working on a talk on architectural photography so an opportunity in my free time in Bristol to gather a few more images featuring the older coloured house in Bristol and their modern concrete versions, reflections and general abstracts.

Oldbury Canal

As a leg-stretcher after driving to Oldbury (Birmingham area), I took a walk along the Oldbury Canal to where it runs under the M5 and where a lot of reconstruction work is being done.

 

Christmas Walk at Bridlington

We decided to drive to Bridlington on Christmas Morning and enjoyed a walk in sunshine along the beach and around the harbour. Since I last visited quite a few years ago, they have built a very impressive Leisure Centre - a good addition to my collection of architectural studies of concrete buildings!