“After years of investing time in self-assigned work, seeing it pay off was particularly gratifying”

Colorado-based architectural photographer Warren Diggles is up for this edition of Project of the Week with an intreaguing three-shoot commission for OZ Architecture.

“I had the opportunity to document three remarkable educational facilities designed by OZ Architecture. The Anschutz Engineering Center at UCCS houses advanced labs and classrooms, with a distinctive glass-encased stairway featuring a ceiling-mounted satellite. At Colorado School of Mines, the Labriola Innovation Hub is designed for hands-on learning and cross-disciplinary collaboration within its 37,000-square-foot facility. The Beck Venture Center, also at Mines, represents a leap forward in educational design, bringing together academia and business in a sustainable building that’s net-zero ready,” Warren explains.

He continues, “Here’s what makes this project special to me:

During the proposal process, OZ asked for examples of similar work. While I had a few K-12 projects in my portfolio, my only higher education example was actually a self-assigned project at UC San Diego. That personal work ended up resonating with OZ’s lead architect and helped land the project.

After years of investing time in self-assigned work, seeing it pay off was particularly gratifying. What made the project even more rewarding was OZ’s enthusiastic response to the final images and their swift integration of the final images into their portfolio– validating the project’s success.”

I love Warren’s tidy images – well lit and well composed. They read graphic and interesting, with heaps of leading lines and bold shapes.

“The UCCS project brought its own interesting moment,” he says. “When we needed access to locked rooms, a staff member provided the phone number for the head of the engineering department. I called expecting to get voicemail, but he answered immediately, came right over to help, and even connected us with a graduate student for additional support.”

GH Phipps Construction are the builders behind The Beck Venture Center and UCCS Anschutz Engineering Center. The team behind The Labriola Innovation Hub was Saunders Construction Inc.

Lets talk gear! Warren divulged a bit about his kit. He’s shooting a Fujifilm GFX100 II with a mix of lenses, including a Fujinon GF30mm TS, Fujinon GF110mm TS, Canon TS-E 50mm Macro, Canon TS-E 90mm Macro, and Laowa 20mm Shift.

Warren tethers to Capture One and shapes his light with Profoto B10 and A2s, as well as Scrim Jims.

Warren notes some of the problem solving and fortunate moments that unfolded during his shoot. He shares, “One thing I appreciate about architectural photography is how challenges often reveal unexpected opportunities. At the Beck Venture Center, with no staff on site during our weekend shoot, we faced access challenges to key spaces.

While photographing one area, we met a campus police officer conducting a building tour. This fortuitous meeting not only helped us access a locked room that day but gave us the confidence to reach out to campus police the next day when we needed access to additional areas.”

Warren and I share a similar favorite photo from this series – two people playing chess at the Beck Venture Center. He delves in, “The chess players shot at the Beck Venture Center really captures what we were trying to achieve. It wasn’t the most technically challenging image of the project, but sometimes the shots that best capture what the client is looking for come together in unexpected ways.

We set up with the Fujifilm GFX100 II and the Fujinon GF30mm TS lens to highlight a key architectural detail – how the exterior and interior brick walls create a seamless flow from outside to in. The final image combines two exposures: one capturing the available light and another using a Profoto B10x to light the students. What made the shot particularly effective was that the models (my son and his girlfriend) brought a chess set and decided to play while I was setting up the lighting. You can’t plan for moments like that – they just happen, and they often create the most authentic representations of how spaces serve their intended purpose.”

I also just adore the shot on the left here. More lines, more geometric forms, reflections, and slices of light. It feels fun and attention grabbing.

As does this bold twilight exterior of The Beck Venture Center.

As Warren takes us to the Labriola Innovation Hub, we are met by more bold compositions.

Check out how Warren composes this shot so that the blue sky and window reflections feel so harmonious. There are interesting patterns of light, and lovely shapes created by the building, sky, and shadows.

“The Labriola shoot was interesting because we needed signed releases for anyone recognizable in the photos,” explains Warren. “This led to some great conversations with students working in the woodshop and 3D printing lab. For exterior shots that included passerby, we used a 3-stop ND filter to blur pedestrians. OZ seemed to appreciate how we adapted to each situation and still delivered the shots they needed.”

He sings his client’s praises, saying “OZ Architecture’s collaborative approach truly elevated this project.  They put in an incredible amount of effort to help us navigate all the scheduling complexities, access issues, and school policies. When a client invests that kind of time and energy into making a project successful, it pushes me to make sure every image delivers something special for them. It’s a true collaboration, and that’s what elevates the final results beyond just documenting buildings to really capture their vision.”

Many thanks to Warren Diggles for submitting this project! Head over to digglesphotography.com on the web, and @digglesphotography on Instagram to check out more of Warren’s work!

If you have a project you’d like to be considered for Project of the Week, you can submit it here.