Images of The Hive at Kew Gardens and Foster + Partners’ Bloomberg London are among 20 finalists announced this week for The Architectural Photography Awards 2018, supported by the World Architecture Festival (WAF) and PICSEL and sponsored by Sto and Dornbracht.
The 20 shortlisted photographs will be exhibited at the World Architecture Festival (WAF) in Amsterdam, which takes place from 28th-30th November. Here WAF visitors can cast their vote from the chosen finalists in the four main categories. The winners of the people’s choice votes and those of the pre-judged new categories of Mobile and Portfolio will be revealed at the WAF Gala dinner on 30th November, along with the overall winner. The judging panel includes photographer Richard Bryant, Alan Capel, head of content at photography agency Alamy, and architect James Timberlake of US practice KieranTimberlake.
Held as an annual celebration of the best architectural photography, the awards attracted entries from 47 countries, with the highest proportion (28%) from the UK. Five finalists have been shortlisted in each of the four usual categories of Exteriors, Interiors, Sense of Place and Buildings in Use. In the new Portfolio category, judges will assess entries of four-six photographs relating to one architectural project. In the Mobile category for photographs taken on a mobile device, there will be two winners – the judges’ choice and a public choice. Public voting for this is open until 12pm Friday 30th November and can be viewed here www.photocrowd.com.
Shortlisted photographs reflect the truly international spread of entries, with finalists including entrants from India, China, Australia, US, Canada and the UK. Unusually, two entries featured the same building – The Hive, designed by Wolfgang Buttress. Omer Kanipak’s image of children peering in was shortlisted in the ‘Buildings in Use’ category while Jeff Eden’s picturesque photo of The Hive in the snow was shortlisted in the Sense of Place category.
The widely eclectic entries varied from historic buildings such as the Piazza Duomo in Milan captured by Marco Tagliarino of Italy from the neighbouring Museo del 900, to images of brand new buildings such as Foster + Partners’ Bloomberg headquarters. For the latter, James Newton’s beautiful photograph of the timber-clad ‘Vortex’ lobby was shortlisted in the Interior category.
Images of dereliction and abandonment are particularly poignant. In Ryan Koopmans’s photograph of a Soviet-era Sanatorium in the town of Tskaltubo, Georgia, the abandoned building has been turned into a rubbish dump, with a stray dog the only sign of life. Roman Robroek’s photograph of a semi-abandoned power station in Kelenfold, Budapest is a sharp contrast, with the deserted control room still pristine with its magnificent glass ceiling intact.
While most of the shortlisted images are devoid of inhabitants, a few have combined architectural themes with human interest. Zhu Wenqiao’s image, shortlisted in the ‘Sense of Place’ category, contrasts swimmers on the riverside in Chongqing, China with the construction in the background of the high-rise Raffles City by Safdie Architects. Two of the photographs shortlisted in the ‘Buildings in Use’ category depict sporting activity – runners on an indoor track at Auburn University, in Alabama, photographed by Brad Feinknopf, and Aldo Amoretti’s image of athletes training at Azur Arena in Antibes, France.
Several highly abstract images including Sufaj Garg’s ceiling detail shot of Santiago Calatrava’s Liège-Guillemins station in Belgium contrast with views showing the buildings in the context of their location. These include the Seashore Chapel in Qinhuangdao, China designed by Vector Architects and pictured by Ai Qing from afar.
The full shortlist and all images for The Architectural Photography Awards 2018 can be viewed www.photocrowd.com.
Each of the main category winners in The Architectural Photography Awards will receive a cash prize of $3000 with the Portfolio winner receiving $1000 and the two Mobile winners $250 each. Click here to book your WAF 2018 tickets to access the exclusive Architctural Photography Awards exhibition.
The Architectural Photography Awards 2018 shortlisted entries are:
Buildings in Use
- Omer Kanipak – The Hive at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK, designed by Wolfgang Buttress
- Aldo Amoretti – Azur Arena in Antibes, France, designed by Auer Weber architects
- Brad Feinknopf – Auburn University, Alabama, USA
- Ryan Koopmans – Soviet-era Sanitorium at Tskaltubo, Georgia, designed by architect Kalashniko
- Laurian Ghinitoiu – Vantablack Pavilion, Pyeongchang, South Korea, designed by Asif Khan
Exterior
- Marius Liutkevicius – Apartment building in Yaiza, Lanzarote, Spain.
- B.R.S.Sreenag – Vm Estancia in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India designed by KSM Architecture
- He Zhenhuan – Bank of China Tower, Ningbo China designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP
- Shao Feng – Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Border Crossing Facility designed by ECADI
- Pawel Paniczko – Long Museum West Bund Shanghai, China designed by Atelier Deshaus
Interior
- Roman Robroek – A semi-abandoned power station in Kelenfold, Budapest, Hungary
- James Newton – The Vortex, Bloomberg headquarters, London, UK designed by Foster + Partners
- Andrew Robertson – The Ouse Valley viaduct in Sussex, UK designed by David Mocatta
- Eugeni Pons – Théodore Gouvy Theatre in Freyming-Merlebach, France designed by Dominique Coulon & Associés Suraj Garg
Sense of Place
- Marco Tagliarino – View of the Piazza Duomo in Milan, Italy from the Arengario Balconi of the Palazzo dell’Arengario, Museo del 900 designed by Italo Rota and Fabio Fornasari
- Zhu Wenqiao – Swimmers on the riverside opposite the construction of Raffles City Chongqing, China designed by Safdie Architects
- Dirk Vonten – Castle Neuschwanstein, Germany in Winter
- Jeff Eden – The Hive at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK, designed by Wolfgang Buttress
- Ai Qing – Seashore Chapel in Qinhuangdao, China designed by Vector Architects