The CONTACT photography festival kicks off this week, and a few shows should be of interest to architecture. First there’s Lynne Cohen, whose eerie photographs reveal empty, unexceptional rooms – a firing range, a modernist office-tower lobby – into spaces pregnant with meaning. Curator Barr Gilmore does a walk-through May 8.

Another pick: work by the Building Storeys group at Steam Whistle Brewery.

The collective focuses on historic architecture and infrastructure – often obscure, often forgotten. Urban-exploration photography is a cliche by now, but the best of their work transcends that category. Here’s a preview of a few photos. The one at the top of the post, of a TTC shop, is Not In Service by Toni Wallachy, and these are by Matthew Merrett:

And these by Sean Galbraith:

Once again, details on the Building Storeys show are here.

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