honorable mention
Cyrille Dubreuil france
title
The Bow
Companies design and build fulfillment centers with the objective to satisfy online orders as fast as possible, in the race against the clock for the expected next day or even same day delivery.
In 2008 in the Landscape Journal, Charles Waldheim and Alan Berger had already observed that this new industrial trend “had produced a new form of landscape, a landscape of logistic”. They named it the “Logistic Landscape” defined as “among of the more significant transformations of the built environment over the past decade”.
I witnessed firsthand how these logistic buildings have mushroomed and quietly transformed vast suburban areas. They move closer to the core of our cities, and their imposing architecture rapidly alters our environment. Through my lens I watch, as our landscape takes new and stranger forms, more alien shapes. I did not intend to focus on those forms at first, but somehow a pattern appeared when I saw all these images on my screen. In my eyes they emerge like huge cargo ships, exposing valiantly their bow to the horizon, ploughing through the waves. Their minimalistic bare walls possess a certain abstract purity and geometric photographic quality.
The quietness that these buildings project is a sharp contrast to the once crowded and noisy shopping-malls, another “giant architecture”, which, in its time, had transformed our landscape. These former temples of frenzied consumption have been swept away by the waves of newer modern vessels firmly rooted in our lands.
As time continues to pass to meet the demands of our click to order lifestyle, what else will change in our architecture.
In Hong Kong where I lived from 2000 to 2006, I worked on city landmarks such as the two tallest towers (Two International Finance Center, International Commerce Center), the Ngong Ping 360 cable car, the Guangdong Province liquefied natural gas terminal and the CSPC Nanhai petrochemicals Project in China, working for major companies like the MTR Corporation, Henderson Land, Sun Hung Kai, Bechtel, Bouygues… as well as for the Government (Architectural Services Department).
Back to Paris, France, I organized construction photographic follow-up of several electric power stations in Pont-sur-Sambre, Bayet and Toul, and worked with architects, agencies and property developers on public or private residential properties or offices.
In Milan, Italy, from 2013 to 2016 I shared my time between France and Italy increasing my expertise in office buildings photography and large-scale logistic platforms.
In New York three years from 2016 I photographed more than 300 industrial buildings in the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Texas.
Now in Paris I will continue to build and offer my own vision and photographic aesthetic on the city and urban landscapes.
My architectural or construction photographs can be found in many corporate annual reports or brochures, architecture agencies portfolios, public services communications tools and books.
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entry description
The fast acceleration of the e-commerce revolution has obviously changed the way people shop, but it also has somehow surreptitiously transformed - discreetly but deeply - the landscape and architecture of our suburban areas.Companies design and build fulfillment centers with the objective to satisfy online orders as fast as possible, in the race against the clock for the expected next day or even same day delivery.
In 2008 in the Landscape Journal, Charles Waldheim and Alan Berger had already observed that this new industrial trend “had produced a new form of landscape, a landscape of logistic”. They named it the “Logistic Landscape” defined as “among of the more significant transformations of the built environment over the past decade”.
I witnessed firsthand how these logistic buildings have mushroomed and quietly transformed vast suburban areas. They move closer to the core of our cities, and their imposing architecture rapidly alters our environment. Through my lens I watch, as our landscape takes new and stranger forms, more alien shapes. I did not intend to focus on those forms at first, but somehow a pattern appeared when I saw all these images on my screen. In my eyes they emerge like huge cargo ships, exposing valiantly their bow to the horizon, ploughing through the waves. Their minimalistic bare walls possess a certain abstract purity and geometric photographic quality.
The quietness that these buildings project is a sharp contrast to the once crowded and noisy shopping-malls, another “giant architecture”, which, in its time, had transformed our landscape. These former temples of frenzied consumption have been swept away by the waves of newer modern vessels firmly rooted in our lands.
As time continues to pass to meet the demands of our click to order lifestyle, what else will change in our architecture.
about the photographer
Professional photographer born in Lyon in 1968, member of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) and French professional photographers union UPP (Union des Photographes Professionnels), I have been specializing myself in the fields of architecture, industry and construction for almost 20 years.In Hong Kong where I lived from 2000 to 2006, I worked on city landmarks such as the two tallest towers (Two International Finance Center, International Commerce Center), the Ngong Ping 360 cable car, the Guangdong Province liquefied natural gas terminal and the CSPC Nanhai petrochemicals Project in China, working for major companies like the MTR Corporation, Henderson Land, Sun Hung Kai, Bechtel, Bouygues… as well as for the Government (Architectural Services Department).
Back to Paris, France, I organized construction photographic follow-up of several electric power stations in Pont-sur-Sambre, Bayet and Toul, and worked with architects, agencies and property developers on public or private residential properties or offices.
In Milan, Italy, from 2013 to 2016 I shared my time between France and Italy increasing my expertise in office buildings photography and large-scale logistic platforms.
In New York three years from 2016 I photographed more than 300 industrial buildings in the States of New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and Texas.
Now in Paris I will continue to build and offer my own vision and photographic aesthetic on the city and urban landscapes.
My architectural or construction photographs can be found in many corporate annual reports or brochures, architecture agencies portfolios, public services communications tools and books.
back to gallery