office block

Urban vegetation

/ mikeosbornphoto / 4 Comments

Arnold Circus stepsIn some parts of London, greenery appears hard to come by. On a recent photo walk around Shoreditch, this is the best I did – a scattering of autumn leaves on steps at Arnold Circus, a small park set at the confluence of several streets with a small bandstand at its centre. As this city crawls into winter, fall vegetation is becoming scarcer as it is cleared up and the trees grow bare.

Not so for this upstanding pair of trees I found in the business area near Liverpool Street station, guarding a chunky office block. They look like fish out of water, trying to bring a glimmer of nature to a natureless place…

Potted city trees

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Dorando Close

/ mikeosbornphoto / 10 Comments

Dorando building

The red scarfThis is an apparently unremarkable little road in White City, west London. I cross it every morning on my way to work. 

But I notice it each time I pass.

One side of Dorando Close is filled with the modern, sandy bricks of an office block and its three stories of windows.

The perspective is impressive and catches my eye every day, while a neat line of trees enhance and complement the sense of understated grandeur of the building.

But this is a community, with a bustling little supermarket just around the corner, a school opposite and BBC buildings close by.

It’s a place of people too.

The lady wearing the red hijab walked into shot as she went about her business, adding a daub of colour – and humanity – to the bland yet eye-catching building on this little London street.

Gallery entrance (2)

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Quatro

/ mikeosbornphoto / 7 Comments

QuatroClick to enlarge

The sharply defined lines of a contemporary office block, blue and white against a cloud-spattered cobalt sky.

Its four distinct slices are right here in Hammersmith, west London, just a short distance from the more traditional and leafy residential area that is my home.

It’s looking very different from the last time that I captured this building.

This shot was created to make it richer and more dynamic than usual – more on this and the architecture of glass in this part of the city very soon.

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