Thanks to social media, more people than ever now consume architecture every day through their feeds. However, their attention is fleeting — with millions of architectural ideas flowing across the web, each designer has just a brief moment to make an impact.
This means one shot needs to possess the power to tell a whole story on its own, in seconds. For any aspiring photographer, producing a viral image might just kickstart their career. But what exactly makes an architectural photo special?
Enter The One Photo Challenge.
The One Photo Challenge competition is now accepting submissions, with a Main Entry Deadline of March 26th this year. With 2 grand prizes of $2,500 and Fujifilm cameras for students and non-students, Architizer’s global architectural ideas competition poses a simple question:
Can you capture a single photograph that tells a powerful story about architecture?
Teahouse in Coal Harbour designed by Kengo Kuma & Associates and photographed by Ema Peter, Vancouver, Canada; winner of a double 2018 A+Award in the Architecture +Photography & Video category.
Architecture’s Biggest Photography Competition
Your task is simple: Submit one photograph that powerfully communicates a piece of architecture and the experience of those who inhabit it. It can be located anywhere in the world and portray any style of architecture, historic to contemporary.
It can show an individual detail, a whole building or an entire cityscape. As long as it portrays part or all of a building or group of buildings, it is eligible. Remember — the challenge is to tell a story with your image, so think about what narrative your photo communicates.
Casa Sperimentale, Fregene, Italy; photograph by Oliver Astrologo
A Stellar Jury
This exciting competition — Architizer’s first ever dedicated solely to architectural photography — is a huge event within the industry, with a series of influential jurors confirmed to run the rule over your photographs.
Confirmed jurors include:
- Ema Peter, multi-award-winning architectural photographer
- Sebastian Weiss, otherwise known as le_blanc — Instagram’s most popular photographer of minimalist architectural details
- Paul Clemence, renowned architectural photographer and founder of the huge Archi-Photo community, home to almost 1 million followers!
- Yener Torun, Turkish architect and photographer otherwise known as cimkedi; creator of the world’s most colorful architectural photography series!
- Aldo Amoretti, multi A+Award-winning architectural photographer who took the photo on the cover of 2018 “The World’s Best Architecture” compendium.
- Hufton + Crow, world-renowned photographers Nick Hufton and Al Crow, whose clients include Zaha Hadid Architects, BIG and Heatherwick Studio.
The jury will include many more thought leaders from the world of architecture and photography alike — watch this space for updates.
Left: Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre, Surrey, Canada, designed by HCMA Architecture + Design and photographed by Ema Peter Photography; finalist in the 2017 A+Awards. Right: Amagerforbrændingen Waste to Energy Plant, København, Denmark, designed by BIG and photographed by Aldo Amoretti Photography; winner of a double 2019 A+Award in the Architecture +Photography & Video category.
Top Prizes
There are two grand prizes of $2,500 up for grabs for the winners, as well as a Fujifilm INSTAX camera and an exclusive interview to tell the world more about your image. Further to this, 100 Finalists will be published on Architizer Journal, forming a stunning gallery of architectural photography that paints a picture of our world in 2021. Should your image be selected, it will be exhibited to a design community of more than 4 million.
Without further ado, register for the competition today, and begin sifting through your best photographs to prepare your entry. Good luck from all of us at Architizer!
Submit for the One Photo Challenge
Top image: Snøhetta Pavilion, photographed by Alejandro Villanueva Photography