Photo Of The Year is an international photo competition for architecture students in celebration of the significance of architectural photography for the development of architecture. This year’s theme, Architectural Landscapes, is focused on the interaction of architecture and landscape – or the lack of it. In a time when landscape and nature are undergoing dramatic transformation, the competition addresses how architectural and landscape photography can help spark debate and engage in the conversation about how we plan and build in interaction with nature.

The competition also challenges architecture students all over the world on the smartphone, which is now widely used to document everything, from professional to personal highs and lows. What are the implications of its transition from simple telephony to visual communication? Images shape our very image of the world, and the pace of the constant flow of images – especially on social media – is making us immune to their visual impact. That is why this year’s competition focuses on the smartphone and its possibilities and limitations. What are the implications of having a camera as a constant extension of our bodies, and might we enhance the quality of fleeting photographs?

The jury calls for an experimental gaze and new photographic topics and angles and will favour photos with a high artistic content. As the purpose of the competition is to develop the discipline, it is key that the person behind the camera has a background in architecture and the particular awareness of space, light, site and time that this brings. The competition encourages new ways of representing architecture, whether the photographs are taken at night or during the day and in artificial or natural light.

Submission Requirements

Submit a series of five photos that relate to the competition theme: Architectural Landscapes. The theme is open to interpretation, and the competition welcomes experimentation.

Eligibility

Contestants must be enrolled in a school of architecture or have completed an architectural degree in 2021. You may also enter if you are enrolled in a PhD programme at a school of architecture, are on leave from your architectural studies or are currently working in an architecture internship.

Prizes

• First Prize: 5,000 EUR
• Second Prize: 2,000 EUR
• Third Prize: 1,000 EUR