Stand at the foot of a concrete staircase long enough and its lines start to repeat. Munich-based photographer and videographer Romina has built her career around noticing those patterns in stairwell design.
Her subjects are the spaces most people pass without a second look: stadium interiors, stairwells, textured building facades and functional infrastructure. Her work covers European cities including Geneva, Amsterdam and Helsinki, and it also includes the night streets of Tokyo.
Stadium interiors reward the same close look at curves. Ho Chi Minh City’s Rach Chiec Stadium shows how a huge venue takes shape.
Looking past the postcard
Romina works away from the views that appear on tourist brochures. She frames the dramatic curve of a stadium interior or the arcs of those stairwells instead.
Her approach rests on three habits: looking for unexpected angles, finding clean geometry and seeking disciplined symmetry. Each habit points her toward public spaces that the average commuter rarely studies.
The results turn building materials and everyday architecture, a core concern of urban design, into graphic compositions. Concrete, steel and glass become lines, planes and repeated shapes that hold the eye.
Shape and surface first in modern stairwell architecture
Her images leave out what does not belong to the structure. Facades, stair arcs and stadium curves remain in view, while distractions fall away.
What the viewer keeps is shape, surface and the way light moves across them. The photographs make functional infrastructure look deliberate, and they invite a slower look at routes many people cross every day.
Stone facades reward the same attentive eye. Amsterdam Icon Renovated with Antolini Stone shows how material choices transform a historic Dutch building.
The lesson in Romina’s pictures is that a city’s most carefully considered design, including its stairwells, may sit in places nobody photographs. The next time you wait for a train or climb a stairwell, look at the lines and the repetition around you.
Source: designyoutrust.com
Frequently asked questions
What kinds of spaces does Romina photograph in her work?
Romina focuses on spaces most people pass without a second look, including stadium interiors, stairwells, textured building facades and functional infrastructure. Her work covers European cities such as Geneva, Amsterdam and Helsinki, as well as the night streets of Tokyo.
What three habits guide Romina’s approach to photography?
Her approach rests on looking for unexpected angles, finding clean geometry and seeking disciplined symmetry. Each habit leads her toward public spaces that the average commuter rarely studies.
What does Romina leave out of her photographs?
Her images leave out anything that does not belong to the structure, so distractions fall away. What remains is the shape, surface and the way light moves across them.
Does Romina photograph the typical tourist views of cities?
No, Romina works away from the views that appear on tourist brochures. Instead, she frames elements like the dramatic curve of a stadium interior or the arcs of stairwells.
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