The Foundation for Sport and the Arts has now wound up it's operation for good.
Along the way some of the projects I photographed for the annual reports were unfinished and in an effort to keep the Foundations photographic archive complete I have, when able, been 'sweeping up' these unfinished projects.
The most notable of these being Firstsite in Colchester, only at the superstructure stage when I originally visited for the FSA's 2007 annual report.
Firstsite’s new building was designed by the Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly. His design was selected by a worldwide architectural competition that attracted more than 100 entries. Rafael Viñoly Architects PC are also creators of the Curve centre for the performing arts in Leicester, and the recently completed masterplan for London’s Battersea Power Station redevelopment.
Firstsite is built on a steel frame, and clad entirely in TECU Gold a malleable copper-aluminium alloy that had to be applied by hand. The building lies on Scheduled Ancient Monument land, with archaeological artefacts buried beneath. This meant a ‘no-dig’ policy, conventional foundations could not be dug. Instead, the vast 3,200 square metre building is supported by a giant concrete ‘raft’, which floats above the ground.
Organising a visit to photograph Firstsite was, as I thought it would be, easy, I would already be in the area and would combine the visit with another job. Everything slotted into place as I thought it would, two days before I was due to be in Colchester, yes you guessed it, the phone rings, 'hello Lindsay here can you cancel as someone has smashed the entrance porch glass which will have to be ordered from Austria and will probably only be replaced in a couple of months'!
So here I am trying to 'sweep up' unfinished jobs nearly ending up with a brush in my hand! only photographed the interior this time, I'll have to revisit once the exterior has been repaired!
