Hufton and Crow's photo of Zaha Hadid's Aliyev Centre in Azerbaijan was voted the best architectural photo of the past year. Hufton and Crow
Zaha Hadid Architects; Heydar Aliyev Centre; Cultrural Centre; Baku; Azerbaijan
The man in this shot gives perspective and a sense of space in the all-white interior. Hufton and Crow
Zaha Hadid Architects; Heydar Aliyev Centre; Cultrural Centre; Baku; Azerbaijan
Pawel Paniczko's arial shot of BIG's development in Copenhagen gives you an idea of how the buildings fit into the cityscape. Pawel Paniczko
Pawel Paniczko's arial shot of BIG's development in Copenhagen gives you an idea of how the buildings fit into the cityscape.
The nested homes in detail. Pawel Paniczko
The nested homes in detail.
David Borland's photo of the Ivar Aasen Centre in Orsta Norway captures the building (designed by Sverre Fehn) in afternoon light. David Borland
Ivar Aasen Centre, Museum, Orsta Norway, Sverre Fehn 2000 (detail of shuttered concrete exterior with wooden door glowing in late afternoon light, with snowy mountains beyond)
Despite being the focal point of the photo, this door represents a small portion of the concrete building. Just outside of the frame is an exterior covered in windows. David Borland
Ivar Aasen Centre, Museum, Orsta Norway, Sverre Fehn 2000 (detail of shuttered concrete exterior with wooden door glowing in late afternoon light, with snowy mountains beyond)
An exterior shot of Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Center captured just after dusk Hufton and Crow
Heydar Aliyev Center
David Borland's shot of the auditorium in BIG's Danish Maritime Museum. David Borland
Danish Maritime Museum (Museet for Søfart), Museum, Helsingør Denmark, Bjarke Ingels Group / BIG 2013 (wooden seats in lecture theatre)
The photography focused on the patterns and symmetry of the natural wood chairs David Borland
Danish Maritime Museum (Museet for Søfart), Museum, Helsingør Denmark, Bjarke Ingels Group / BIG 2013 (wooden seats in lecture theatre)
Tim Van de Velde's electricity transformation station in Antwerp, Belgium is all about geometry and framing. Tim Van de Velde
Petrol, ElectricityTransformationStation,noA Architects,Antwerp, Belgium, Shot on 03/12/2010
The photographer was able to highlight the stunning architecture while giving us a sense of proportion and place. Alvaro Siza Vieira
Project name: Swimming Pool in Leça da Palmeira Building type: Swimming Pool Architect: Alvaro Siza Vieira Location: Leça da Palmeira Country: Portugal Date Shoot: 11.08.2013 Paypal Transaction ID: 2D723553VT893004G
Alvaro Siza Vieira took this shot of a swimming pool in Leça da Palmeira, Portugal. Alvaro Siza Vieira
Project name: Swimming Pool in Leça da Palmeira Building type: Swimming Pool Architect: Alvaro Siza Vieira Location: Leça da Palmeira Country: Portugal Date Shoot: 11.08.2013 Paypal Transaction ID: 2D723553VT893004G
Mads Mogensen snapped a moody shot of an interior designed by Jochen Haidacher. Mads Mogensen
Jochen Haidacher's inspirational place
Though it's abstract, the lighting and simple geometry are able to convey a very particular mood. Mads Mogensen
Jochen Haidacher's inspirational place
Sonia Mangipane photographed the interior of a cow stable in Limburg province, Netherlands Sonia Mangipane
Vrijloopstal Hartman cattle stable/agricultural, Heibloem, Limburg province, The Netherlands.
Darren Soh captured OMA's puzzle building in Singapore as a single, wide image instead of focusing on specific details. Darren Soh
The Interlace, Condominium Designed by Ole Scheeren / OMA Singapore Client: ARUP Paypal Reference: Darren Soh Transaction ID: 1EW1293459207093F
Close up crop of the jutting angles. Darren Soh
The Interlace, Condominium Designed by Ole Scheeren / OMA Singapore Client: ARUP Paypal Reference: Darren Soh Transaction ID: 1EW1293459207093F
Inigo Bujedo Aguirre's shot of the Encants Flea Market in Barcelona. Inigo Bujedo Aguirre
Encants Flea Markert in barcelona by B720 Arquitectura
Victor Romero shows SOM's Dubai skyscraper rising out of the clouds. Victor Romero
Victor Romero/contact@vromero.com/ +971557288857/Paypal reference Transaction ID: 0TE861014M6015913/Cayan Tower/Residential building/Architect SOM/Dubai/United Arab Emirates
Inigo Bujedo Aguirre found the most compelling feature of this tiny home in Seoul. Inigo Bujedo Aguirre
Family House
James Leynse's shot of the Havas Worldwide offices in New York show the building in use, which is a growing trend in architectural photography. James Leynse
New York offices of Havas Worldwide. designed by TPG Architecture
It’s harder than it looks to capture a building’s pretty side. Take a scroll through #architecture on Instagram, and you’ll see what I mean. Lopsided framing, terrible light, questionable use of black and white filters—yep, there are many a pitfall when attempting to photograph a building. But when it’s done well, architectural photography is capable of making us feel like we’re really in a space, peering over the curved ramp of the Guggenheim or cowering under a soaring ceiling.
The 20 best architectural photos from the last year (deemed so by judges at the World Architecture Festival) have this power. You can see them now in Building Images, a recently opened exhibition at London’s Sto Werkstatt Museum. The exhibition, which showcases the finalists from the Arcaid Images Architectural Photography Awards, is meant to be a celebration of the built world’s beauty. And true to it’s claim, there are some dazzling photos here.
Some, like Hufton + Crow’s stark interior shot of Zaha Hadid’s Heydar Aliyev Building in Azerbaijan, are instant classics. Others, like Sonia Mangiapane’s photo of a cow stable are less expectedly beautiful. It’s this fact, that the show isn’t just a series of full-frontal glamour shots, that makes it worthwhile. Capturing an iconic images is matter of composition, lighting, texture, sure. But it’s also about finding the essence of a building, and so often the essence is found while the building is in use. Joao Morgado’s shot of the Alvaro Siza Vieira designed pool in Portugal is a great example. The aquamarine pool is almost an aside to the sprawling ocean and hundreds of bodies dotting the beach, yet this sense of context is what makes the built structure so incredible.
Great architectural photographers like Ezra Stoller and Iwan Baan have proven that a still image is an art form unto itself. Yet, architectural photography comes with an inherent “second best thing” mentality. And fair enough—there’s nothing like tiptoeing through soaring halls or seeing a facade glisten when the sun hits it just right. Architecture has always been best experienced in three dimensions, but if you can’t make it to the building, a photograph can be a damn fine replacement.
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