Levi Wells Photographs a Beautiful Example of Brutalist Architecture in Under an Hour

Today we’re checking out a gorgeous set of photographs by Mexico City based architectural photographer Levi Wells. Levi kicked off his shoot for the Hotel Casa TO in Punta Zicatela at sunrise and was able to move quickly and efficiently to wrap the shoot in less than an hour.

Hotel Casa TO is a lovely example of Brutalist architecture by French architect Ludwig Godefroy who lives and works in Mexico City. Let’s check out the images that Levi made:

Levi explained to me that construction wasn’t finished on the day of his shoot and that the hotel hadn’t moved in any furniture or decor yet. This allowed Levi to distill the shoot down to just light and form without having to worry about scooting chairs and tables around. The lack of distractions allows us to concentrate on the shapes and tones throughout the pool area. We can note the rhythm of the cascading lines and feel the bold geometric design.

Levi shared that the haze in the morning sky created the perfect lighting mixture of diffused light while also allowing pockets of sharp shadows and highlights created by the bold and linear shapes of the brutalist architecture.

To capitalize on the fast-moving morning light, Levi ditched his tripod and went hand-held with his tilt-shift lenses, holding his breath to stabilize himself.

Moving up from the pool area, Levi’s perspective shows off the scale of the hotel. We see the soft wrapping light that the hazy sky creates. It works perfectly with the plants on the roof and foliage beyond that add color and breaks up the hard edges with organic shapes.

I appreciate the time of day that Levi chose to shoot. It transports us to the hotel, and we feel as if we’ve woken up before the other guests and are exploring the property.

Many thanks to Levi for sharing this unique project with us. He did a beautiful job of portraying this hotel and I loved hearing the story behind these photographs!

See more of Levi’s thoughtful work on his website leviwells.com Instagram @leviwellsphoto.

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