Too cool for school?

We were delighted to be asked to photograph this amazing creation - a new pre-prep school in Chelsea, South West London, which opens in September this year. 

The building, which formerly housed the Chelsea Conservative Club,  has a grand Victorian facade which has largely remained untouched and looks ideally suited to house a school - not too cool thus far.... However, it's the transformation inside that is something to see!

The creation is the vision of Stuart Bamford, who is Head of nearby Chelsea Pre Prep. It takes inspiration from "the magical world of children's literature and artistic film makers" in an effort to challenge "the culture of 'box-ticking' education". 

The school has 6 large classrooms, a performance studio, an enchanted garden and an Imaginarium - a space which transforms once the automatic blinds come down and the numerous projectors switch on. Suddenly you find yourself surrounded by swimming fishes in an underwater aquarium, the next minute surfing alongside a beach in a tropical paradise!  

We have no doubt it will be a delight for the children (aged 2-5 years) who will attend, but from a photographer's point of view it was a dream to shoot. 

farewell The Cricketers on the Green

It is always sad to see the closure of a pub. Even when it's those dangerous looking ones where you suspect the music stops when you walk in, I think of times past and what an area and a community must have been like. A long forgotten way of life that has been made obsolete by the demands of modern living. Sitting on prime real estate, only the best can survive. The writing must have been on the wall when photographer Stefan Czapski took this photo below in 2013 along with a caption "Not open for business on the day I took this photograph. You can't fancy its chances when there is a large and thriving pub - The Greyhound - just a minute's walk away."

Fast forward to 2017 and we found ourselves in Thames Ditton where the premises are available to let for residential use - what a shocker! However, we are not talking six new flats as you might expect. This plot has been converted into two very decent sized houses and many of the architectural features have been kept. The stained coat of arms in the front windows in particular were pleasing to see retained. And I'm sure the cricket team still plays!

Who knows, in 100 years perhaps someone will convert it back to a public house!

Former garage, future home

You've all heard the one about the small garage selling for many hundreds of thousands in some desirable place in London, right? Well, here's one where the owner has taken said garage space and made it into a delightful 1 bed house - complete with upstairs and terrace. And the thing is, it actually doesn't feel small when you're inside. A bit of a tardis, this one!

Pixangle especially likes the rear window, a circular wrought iron delight, the floating staircase and the bedroom barn type doors that open onto the terrace. Have a look!