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VISUAL MACHINERYphotography & design | ROBERT HAKALSKI | MECHANIK
award winning images for advertising | print web stock | www.vmdigital.com
CatalogueClient: Lippincott, Inc.
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Catalogue [page]Client: Lippincott, Inc.
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CatalogueClient: Malvern Saddlery
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CatalogueClient: Malvern Saddlery
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CatalogueClient: Malvern Saddlery
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CatalogueClient: Malvern Saddlery
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CatalogueClient: Baby Phat
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CatalogueClient: Baby Phat
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CatalogueClient: MIO, Inc.
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CatalogueClient: Previn, Inc.
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CatalogueClient: ThinkTank
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CatalogueClient: WMF Artelier
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CatalogueClient: Lippincott, Inc.
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CatalogueClient: Lippincott, Inc.
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CatalogueClient: Lippincott, Inc.
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Trade Ads Client: Craig Drake
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JON WAGNER, ARCHITECT
Local Design Showcase
Two roll-up garage doors provide access to storage spacefor photographic equipment.The green wall was raised toconceal unattractive utilitiesand reveal more desirable ones.
InteriorClient: Inquirer Magazine
&DESIGNHOMEDECORATING REMODELING GARDENING
JULY 2006
ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TOTHE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
INSIDE: MODERN FURNITURE MOVES OUT PLAYFUL SUMMER PARTIESPENNSYLVANIA
space galore+ hiding places
Loftyideal:
[RANDOM NOTES]
I had the opportunity to photograph my
loft studio/living space for a feature story on Philadelphia
loft conversions in the Philadelphia Inquirer
Home and Design magazine.
Left: Kitchen | Living room
Top R: Entryway to office from studio
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&DESIGNHOMEDECORATING REMODELING GARDENING
JULY 2006
ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TOTHE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
INSIDE: MODERN FURNITURE MOVES OUT PLAYFUL SUMMER PARTIESPENNSYLVANIA
space galore+ hiding places
Loftyideal:
InteriorClient: Inquirer Magazine
&DESIGNHOMEDECORATING REMODELING GARDENING
JULY 2006
ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TOTHE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
INSIDE: MODERN FURNITURE MOVES OUT PLAYFUL SUMMER PARTIESPENNSYLVANIA
space galore+ hiding places
Loftyideal:
FORMER PHILADELPHIA FACTORY GETS UPDATE AND STORAGE SPACE
BY BRIDGET McQUATE
PHOTOS BY ROBERT HAKALSKI/VISUAL MACHINERY STUDIO
taken to a higher level
Brick walls, wood floors,exposed ductwork and massive woodencolumns define anexpanse of open space.
Loft living
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FORMER PHILADELPHIA FACTORY GETS UPDATE AND STORAGE SPACE
BY BRIDGET McQUATE
PHOTOS BY ROBERT HAKALSKI/VISUAL MACHINERY STUDIO
taken to a higher level
Brick walls, wood floors,exposed ductwork and massive woodencolumns define anexpanse of open space.
Loft livingIn its present incarnation, the building near 13th and CallowhillStreets is home to human resources professional Sonya Shifletand her husband Robert Hakalski, a commercial and art pho-tographer. They bought their double-wide loft condo shortlyafter the structure’s rebirth.
Rehabbed by real estate developers/artists Miles & GeneralisInc., each loft in the building came equipped with yards uponyards of brick walls, wood floors, a basic kitchen, a bathroom,exposed ductwork and massive wooden columns holding up a boundless expanse of openness — the kind of space thatmakes you want to do cartwheels across the floor, just becauseyou can.
Shiflet and Hakalski loved the contemporary/industrial aes-thetic of their loft and made many improvements to existingarchitectural features. They painted the ceiling, finished floors,sanded columns and enhanced exposed pipes — polishing the
copper of some and covering others with a faux metal finish.But they eventually started longing for “luxuries” that the restof us take for granted: closets and any enclosed storage spacewhatsoever. Their dirty laundry had nowhere to hide, nor didthe household items or Hakalski’s photographic equipment.They called architect Jon Wagner, whose work they had seenand admired.
“They decided to take loft living to a higher level,” Wagnersays “They wanted help to go beyond the existing stock parti-tions and fixtures to individualize the space and tailor it to specific functions.”
Indoor parking for gearHakalski is a professional photographer of high-end commer-cial products, who transforms ordinary objects into gleamingworks of art. He wanted to use the loft as a working studio all day, but convert it back into living space at night. The archi-tect’s plan called for a new wall built out several feet from theoriginal wall. Inserted into the new wall are two massive,garage-style doors with aluminum-slat, roll-top fronts that rein-force the loft’s factory theme. Hakalski can now just slide hislighting, cameras and massive rolls of background material into
The spacious office areaincludes a desk designed bymetal artist Bill Curran, afriend and neighbor of theloft’s owners.
Buttons, embedded in the wooden floors, are allthat remains of this old brick factory’s former life.
[RANDOM NOTES]
Top: Office
Right: View from kitchen area to conference/dining area.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Robert Hakalski began taking photographs while a student at the University of Leeds in England, where he received a Master of Arts degree in English Literature. After teaching English for a year, he decided to pursue photography full time and worked as a photojournalist before establishing his commercial studio in Philadelphia, originally in Old City, now in the Callowhill District.
Robert has won numerous awards for his digital imaging work, including first prize in the Adobe International Digital Imaging Competition, sponsored by photoworkshop.com. Robert's entry was chosen from over 6000 entries world-wide.
ABOUT VISUAL MACHINERY:
VISUAL MACHINERY produces a broad array of image and design products ranging from CD art and package design, catalogue production for print and web, people and product photography for advertising and corporate communications, to large format fine art imaging for both private and corporate buyers.
v/215.625.9492e/[email protected]
STUDIO SPECS:
2300 square feet open plan loft spaceFreight elevator access from street levelIndoor garage parking for clients
PhaseOne® medium format digital backs Tethered shooting
Nikon D-3 series DSLR’s
Macintosh-based color managed workflowEizo® calibrated graphics monitors
429 North 13th Street Studio 3/CPhiladelphia, PA 19123-3615
(4 blocks North of Philadelphia Convention Center/Reading Terminal Market)