Impressive Pictures are Shortlisted for the Architectural Photography Awards 2021

The Architectural Photography Awards (APA) 2021 has announced the photographs shortlisted for the 2021 edition of the competition. The shortlist is the result of filtering 2000 entries from 42 countries—the general criteria for the competition were “highlighting the expertise of architectural photography and focusing on the skill and creativity of the photographer.”

The growing obsession with visual documentation is giving us a chance to learn more about our architectural context. After we build, the Architecture rebuilds and frames our stories. Taking a photo of a building might be easy, but telling a story through it is quite challenging. If you want to be part of Arch2O’s Photography Challenge, you can learn more and submit your entry here!

The APA’s ninth edition is supported by Aluprof UK and the World Architecture Festival (WAF) and is divided into six main categories: Exterior, Interior, Sense of Place, Buildings in Use, Mobile—with the theme of Greening the City, and Portfolio—with the theme of Building with History.

Exterior Architectural Photography

• Bully Hill House

Behind a Corten façade, a thoughtfully-proportioned one-bedroom residence focuses on art and family. In North Branch, New York, an idyllic expanse of farmland proved to be an immediate fit for a couple as they looked to downsize and move into the next phase of their life. Intimately connected to the agrarian surroundings, the dwelling is a space to live simply while focusing on shared creative passions.

• CapitaSpring

CapitaSpring is a cutting-edge skyscraper that is set to redefine Singapore’s city skyline. At 280 meters, the striking 51-story integrated development will stand head and shoulders above other iconic buildings in the CBD. Interlacing innovative architecture with lush greenery, the majestic façade of CapitaSpring rises to the sky and unfurls at various elevations to reveal lush sanctuaries where the surrounding cityscape can be fully appreciated in its panoramic glory.

• Maggie Center

Maggie’s Centers seek to provide ‘the architecture of hope’. They offer free practical and emotional support for people affected by cancer. Built in the grounds of NHS cancer hospitals, the centers are safe and welcoming spaces. They lift the spirits and set the scene for people to draw on strengths they may not have realized they had in order to cope.

• Koujak Jaber Building

Nicknamed the Gruyère, the Koujak Jaber Building in Ramlet el Beida is an apartment building with the main façade covering the building at full height and consisting of a flat surface punched with openings. Large 3m diameter circular holes face windows and terraces. Between them are small elliptical openings disclosing the slabs and sidewalls separating the apartments.

Interior Architectural Photography 

• ME Dubai Hotel

 

Gleaming white marble floors are highlighted by the golden edges of plush curved seating areas, upholstered in a rich burgundy. Called Ottomans, these seating pods are by Zaha Hadid Design, the design wing of ZHA. Completed externally last year, the ME Dubai at the Opus is the only hotel in the world that can claim to have had both its exterior and interiors designed by the late Zaha Hadid.

• Art Deco in Berlin

  

  Interiors by Helen Trust. Image © The Architectural Photography Awards 2021

Magdalenenstraße is a Berlin U-Bahn station located on the line. The station was designed by the Swedish architect Alfred Grenander and it was opened for service in 1930. It was closed for a few months in 1945 and was renovated in 2004–05. The walls are covered with green panels and the columns are also painted green.

• Times Pavilion

Times China, an enterprise involving the urbanization of China, has launched a series of celebrations and commemorative activities on the occasion of its 20th anniversary, in particular in the creation of the Times Pavilion. Based on the interpretation of the Times China brand, the designer puts forward the spatial concept of the apocalypse, extracts the three keywords of space, matter, and energy, and further gives a design response to this spatial concept.

• The Rainbow Apartment

The Soho in Odaiba is exactly a modern 13-story collaborative complex in Tokyo’s most prominent waterfront area, it offers shared work spaces and home offices for rent. Furthermore, it claims to draw inspiration from the “sense of liberty” of Soho in New York, so it appears there is a double meaning enclosed.

Sense of Place

• Holidays during COVID19

With a total built area of ​​over 1 million square meters (approx. 11 million square feet), Raffles City Chongqing is one of Safdie Architects’ largest and most complex projects to date. It continues the firm’s exploration of vertical neighborhoods, livable urban communities, and thoughtfully connected public spaces.

• The Cube in Berlin

This sculptural, iconic building features pioneering smart office technologies and is situated in the heart of Berlin on the historically significant site, Washingtonplatz. As one of Berlin’s new emerging public spaces, this site provides the ideal setting for this new landmark that showcases the latest advances in sustainability, design, digitization, and comfort.

• Taihu Show Theatre

The Wuxi Taihu Show Theatre, which is wrapped in a steel structure designed to look like a bamboo forest, has opened in China. The theatre in Wuxi, a city near Shanghai in eastern China, was designed by Steven Chilton Architects as the permanent home for a water show designed by Belgian theatre director Franco Dragone.

• Rita Restaurant

  

  Sense of Place by Andy Spain. Image © The Architectural Photography Awards 2021

Simple, understated architecture provides a backdrop for the vibrancy of cooking and eating in this new 30-seat restaurant, situated in a tiny worker’s cottage in Aro Street, Wellington. The design focus was on making an intimate space so that dining felt like eating at a friend’s house. A solid wall between the kitchen and seating area was removed and a “kitchen pass” bench now draws a line between the two spaces.

Buildings in Use Architectural Photography 

• a School in Linhaceira

• Lockdown: the empty evacuated tower while neighbors remained

• a Dance arch

• Whitworth Art Gallery

Mobile Architectural Photography with the theme of Greening the City

• Green Steps

• Architects Own Green Office

• Greening the City

• 

  Greening the City Mobile by Yu Tzu Chin. Image © The Architectural Photography Awards 2021

  Gardens at the Getty

Portfolio with the theme of Building with History

• Jiaxing Train Station

• SteelForm Showroom

• Beijing Fang Project

  

  Bulidings with History Portfolio: Beijing Fang Project by Aurelien Chen. Image © The Architectural Photography Awards 2021

  

  Bulidings with History Portfolio: Beijing Fang Project by Aurelien Chen. Image © The Architectural Photography Awards 2021

• Hangzhou Metalhands Coffee

The shortlisted pictures for the Architectural Photography Awards will be displayed at the World Architecture Festive (WAF) China in Chendu, from November 4th till November 7th, and at WAF Interactive Digital, which will consist of three days of live conferences starting December 1st and ending December 3rd.

At both displays, delegates get to vote for their favorite architectural photography shots, and by the end of WAF Interactive Digital, three awards will be announced: the Overall award, the Portfolio category award, and the Mobile category award, with two winners in each category.

This year’s jury consists of Richard Bryant, Hon. FRIBA, Hon. Doc Design Kingston University, architectural photographer, Hamish Crooks – Media Licensing & Archive Consultant at Magnum Photos, Laurian Ghinitoiu – Overall Winner of The APA 2019, Chloe Grimshaw – Representative of the Grimshaw Foundation, Katy Harris, Partner & Head of Communications, Foster + Partners, and Marco Iuliano – Reader of Architecture, University of Liverpool School of Architecture, UK.

About the Architectural Photography Awards (APA)

“Since its inception in 2012, The Architectural Photography Awards (APA) have grown from strength to strength. Photographers have entered -and won- from all over the world. We have seen press coverage about the Awards expand from local trade papers to international media.

The APAs have been helped along the way by the World Architecture Festival; together we share an appreciation of the art of photographing architecture. Images of the built world are ubiquitous, used beyond the world of architecture and design, you will see buildings in advertisements for finance, cars, travel, and more.

Despite the visibility of these images, their creators are invisible. The APA crosses sectors and continents to raise awareness of the skill of these photographers; their ability to translate the sophistication of the built world – the photographer interpreting and explaining the character, detail, and environment into readable and understandable two dimensions.

The Architectural Photography Awards are inclusive and we welcome everyone from the full-time professional photographer to the keen amateur using a mobile device.”

More About Arch2O’s Architectural Photography Challenge

It is required to SUBMIT ONE PHOTOGRAPH that conveys the sense of its place—whether through capturing how a building or a group of buildings exist within their context, or how people and objects experience and interact with these buildings.

The photograph can be taken anywhere in the world, at any scale, and from whichever angle.

It can, as well, frame a group of buildings, a whole building, or close-up architectural details. Any photo that portrays architecture as its main element is eligible. Your photograph should be submitted alongside a short description that does not exceed 150 words. Do not worry if you are a beginner, we have got your back with these amazing tips for Architecture Photography Beginners.

The prizes for Arch2O’s Photography Challenge include $10,000 Worth of prizes, publication in Arch2O’s Annual Feature “100 Photos About Architecture”, advertising on international press, and publication in our online gallery.