Overlook Towers, Herndon VA

 


The Building

Overlook Towers in Herndon VA is close to Washington Dulles Airport. It is a 9 storey office block with suites, including the US Headquarters of Airbus. The building was designed by Noritake Associates and was opened in 2007. The façade is composed of precast architectural panels and mirrored glass curtain walls. 

The Photograph

For the first time in over a year I needed to make a work trip. I always make a point of taking a camera and one or two lenses when I travel as you never know when you might see a photo opportunity. 

This time I was visiting our US HQ. I had the Sony A7RII and Laowa 15mm f/4.5 Shift lens with me which I used to take this photograph.

Clearly this photograph is all about the shape of the building and the many, many windows (464 individual panes, which all had their own selection). Once selected, I abstracted the windows using various gradients layered onto each other.

Once I had decided how to handle the glass on this building I moved onto the main structure. The processing here was quite simple other than picking out some of the horizontal ledges to brighten them. 
I added gradients layers to help shape the building for the picture. 

The sky is a gradient, and the foreground is a gradient layer multiplied onto the image to allow some detail through - especially the V shaped curb which I feel makes a good base for the overall image.

In the end I felt that the windows looked a bit flat, so I created a monochromatic noise layer and converted that into a pattern and applied that on just the window panes. This is the first time that I have tried that technique and I think it adds more depth to the finished picture.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Roger Stevens Lecture Hall, University of Leeds

Image
The Building The Roger Stevens Building was built in 1970 as part of the development of the Leeds University South Campus by the architects Chamberlin Powell and Bon. The CPB buildings at Leeds were constructed between 1964 and 1976. They are all recognisably by the same practice, although developments of its style can be seen in the later buildings, especially the Roger Stevens Building (1970).  The west elevation, facing Chancellors Court, has four stepped sections descending from right to left, divided by narrow, vertical, external, semi-circular ventilation shafts. In the bay between the third and fourth sections there is an external staircase projecting in semi-circular bays from the façade. The two left sections are supported on pilotis of diminishing height as the levels of the building descend, with a broad staircase descending from left to right within. The Photograph I took this back in summer 2023, as part of the University Open Day tour with my daughter. Brutalist archi...
Read more

Former Chesterfield Magistrates Court

Image
  The Building Former Chesterfield Magistrates Court house built 1963-65, converted into residential accommodation comprising 30 luxury flats in 2022. Designed by Prof S Allen and Robert Keenlyside for Chesterfield Borough Council, altered in 1975. Reinforced concrete, with decorative stone cladding, and timber roofs clad with copper sheeting. Double fan shaped plan, three storeys. Original east entrance front has recessed ground floor with central double glazed doors now blocked with glazed side lights. Either side four windows with concrete louvres to the offices. Above eleven bays topped with gables, the three central bays have recessed windows to both floors. Either side the two storey courts have grey slate panels with side lights and set back grey! green slate cladding. West front has recessed ground floor with eleven windows each with concrete louvres. Above eleven gabled bays, the central three and outer tow with grey slate cladding and side lights with set back grey green ...
Read more

Glasgow Science Centre Mall

Image
  The Building Designed by BDP Architects and opened in 2001, winning RIBA Award for Architecture 2002, Glasgow Institute of Architects Design Award 2001, Bentley Success Award 2003, Dynamic Place Award 2002 the overall Glasgow Science Centre scheme was the largest Millennium Commission-funded project in Scotland. This is the Mall, the largest of the three main titanium-clad buildings.   The Photograph Modern architecture tends to feature glass quite heavily. This example is no exception. I have developed a few different approaches to rendering the glass in images, sometimes I abstract the glass completely as it if is a solid surface and other times I use gradients to darken the glass to partially obscure what is behind it. In both approaches you end up treating the nearest glass wall as pretty much a solid wall.  Reviewing my pictures from this trip, I initially discounted this image because it seemed too simple a shape - due to my normal approaches to the glass wal...
Read more