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Architecture as art: The AIA|LA Architectural Photography Awards

By Adam Williams
February 26, 2019
Architecture as art: The AIA|LA Architectural Photography Awards
Manhattanhenge, in New York, New York, by Francis-Ssu-ing Wu, is an AIA|LA APA Merit award recipient. "At the turn of the previous century they said, 'come to America, the streets are paved with gold!' says AIA's jury. "Well, this image certainly lives up to that promise"
Manhattanhenge, in New York, New York, by Francis-Ssu-ing Wu, is an AIA|LA APA Merit award recipient. "At the turn of the previous century they said, 'come to America, the streets are paved with gold!' says AIA's jury. "Well, this image certainly lives up to that promise"
View 18 Images
Ragnarock - Museum of Pop, Rock & Youth Culture, in Roskilde, Denmark, by Michael Moser, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "This is a traditional, classical, iconic building – and if not the building, certainly the image of it," says AIA's jury. "The huge, gold structure cantilevered out looks almost dangerously powerful, as if it’s going to crush a small child who is kneeling beneath it"
1/18
Ragnarock - Museum of Pop, Rock & Youth Culture, in Roskilde, Denmark, by Michael Moser, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "This is a traditional, classical, iconic building – and if not the building, certainly the image of it," says AIA's jury. "The huge, gold structure cantilevered out looks almost dangerously powerful, as if it’s going to crush a small child who is kneeling beneath it"
Steel City, in Pittsburgh, PA, by Darren Bradley, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "Architecture is so much about context, and this photograph truly captures that," says AIA's jury. "This photographer, by design or by chance, caught a shaft of light between buildings, illuminating a very surreal structure – or at least it appears surreal compared to its neighbors on the street front"
2/18
Steel City, in Pittsburgh, PA, by Darren Bradley, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "Architecture is so much about context, and this photograph truly captures that," says AIA's jury. "This photographer, by design or by chance, caught a shaft of light between buildings, illuminating a very surreal structure – or at least it appears surreal compared to its neighbors on the street front"
Park Here! in Weil am Rhein, Germany, by Luis Ayala, AIA, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "This photograph derives power from its abstraction," says AIA's jury. "There are some very rigorous compositional effects here. It’s a painting, as a photograph. You understand so intimately what this space is, but here it’s presented in this new way that really makes you look"
3/18
Park Here! in Weil am Rhein, Germany, by Luis Ayala, AIA, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "This photograph derives power from its abstraction," says AIA's jury. "There are some very rigorous compositional effects here. It’s a painting, as a photograph. You understand so intimately what this space is, but here it’s presented in this new way that really makes you look"
Singularity No.18, in Cologne, Germany, by Florian W. Mueller, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "Some photographs have a totemic quality: you just stare at them and you begin to meditate," says AIA's jury. "This is one of those images. Is it the building or is it the photograph? Well, it’s both. Framed by the sky, this abstract, minimal piece is incredibly engaging."
4/18
Singularity No.18, in Cologne, Germany, by Florian W. Mueller, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "Some photographs have a totemic quality: you just stare at them and you begin to meditate," says AIA's jury. "This is one of those images. Is it the building or is it the photograph? Well, it’s both. Framed by the sky, this abstract, minimal piece is incredibly engaging."
Clap Clap, in Itsukushima Temple, Hiroshima, Japan, by Paola Maini, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "Not all photographs are narratives or have narrative qualities – this one does," says AIA's jury. "It almost looks like a scene from a film. It seems to tell a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. There is a big idea here which is that architecture and people are a unity, a singularity, which isn’t always the case in architectural photography"
5/18
Clap Clap, in Itsukushima Temple, Hiroshima, Japan, by Paola Maini, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "Not all photographs are narratives or have narrative qualities – this one does," says AIA's jury. "It almost looks like a scene from a film. It seems to tell a story with a beginning, a middle, and an end. There is a big idea here which is that architecture and people are a unity, a singularity, which isn’t always the case in architectural photography"
To the Moon, in Los Angeles, CA, by Saide Serna, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "This is a very intriguing photograph taken at The Broad, a shrine to contemporary art," says AIA's jury. "We are truly in the belly of the beast. It captures what is the most wondrous and a little threatening or scary about this particular ascent. Without that context it’s this image of people entering into the unknown – and I think that’s something we can all relate to, a visceral effect which is what architecture can bring"
6/18
To the Moon, in Los Angeles, CA, by Saide Serna, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "This is a very intriguing photograph taken at The Broad, a shrine to contemporary art," says AIA's jury. "We are truly in the belly of the beast. It captures what is the most wondrous and a little threatening or scary about this particular ascent. Without that context it’s this image of people entering into the unknown – and I think that’s something we can all relate to, a visceral effect which is what architecture can bring"
100 percent Tempelhofer Feld, in Berlin, Germany, by Daniel Aguilar, is an AIA|LA APA Merit award recipient. "The richness in that tiny little bit of visual space is very beautiful and evocative," says AIA's jury. "It’s very formal and yet you have that sense of being on the cusp of understanding more. A visual moment where the elements come together, earth and sky meeting on a plane"
7/18
100 percent Tempelhofer Feld, in Berlin, Germany, by Daniel Aguilar, is an AIA|LA APA Merit award recipient. "The richness in that tiny little bit of visual space is very beautiful and evocative," says AIA's jury. "It’s very formal and yet you have that sense of being on the cusp of understanding more. A visual moment where the elements come together, earth and sky meeting on a plane" 
Taj Mahal from Gardens at Dawn, in Agra, India, by Kip Harris, AIA, is an AIA|LA APA Merit award recipient. "Here we have this iconic building rendered in a way that makes you look at it again," says AIA's jury. "It has mystery, romanticism, and awe that when it was first constructed it was meant to evoke. Perhaps in this photograph it attempts to fulfill its real meaning, which is to contemplate death and the eternal. It is somber, and it’s exotic and dreamlike"
8/18
Taj Mahal from Gardens at Dawn, in Agra, India, by Kip Harris, AIA, is an AIA|LA APA Merit award recipient. "Here we have this iconic building rendered in a way that makes you look at it again," says AIA's jury. "It has mystery, romanticism, and awe that when it was first constructed it was meant to evoke. Perhaps in this photograph it attempts to fulfill its real meaning, which is to contemplate death and the eternal. It is somber, and it’s exotic and dreamlike"
L.A., in Los Angeles, California, by Miguel Ruiz, is an AIA|LA APA Merit award recipient. "L.A. as New York, or L.A. as what it is becoming, but not quite there yet," says AIA's jury. "This is a love letter to L.A. It’s not just trying to capture an impressive building, it’s showing the life that’s lived in the city and how the architecture is continuing to reshape it"
9/18
L.A., in Los Angeles, California, by Miguel Ruiz, is an AIA|LA APA Merit award recipient. "L.A. as New York, or L.A. as what it is becoming, but not quite there yet," says AIA's jury. "This is a love letter to L.A. It’s not just trying to capture an impressive building, it’s showing the life that’s lived in the city and how the architecture is continuing to reshape it" 
Time For Dodger Baseball, in Los Angeles, CA, by Paul Turang, Affiliate AIA|LA, is a Merit award recipient. "The symmetry of the photograph is astonishing... the quality of light, generated by the architecture itself, is mesmerizing," says AIA's jury. "It is such a testament to the space that can hold all of these thousands of people, that somehow even in all of that chaos it’s deeply poetic and beautiful"
10/18
Time For Dodger Baseball, in Los Angeles, CA, by Paul Turang, Affiliate AIA|LA, is a Merit award recipient. "The symmetry of the photograph is astonishing... the quality of light, generated by the architecture itself, is mesmerizing," says AIA's jury. "It is such a testament to the space that can hold all of these thousands of people, that somehow even in all of that chaos it’s deeply poetic and beautiful"
Manhattanhenge, in New York, New York, by Francis-Ssu-ing Wu, is an AIA|LA APA Merit award recipient. "At the turn of the previous century they said, 'come to America, the streets are paved with gold!' says AIA's jury. "Well, this image certainly lives up to that promise"
11/18
Manhattanhenge, in New York, New York, by Francis-Ssu-ing Wu, is an AIA|LA APA Merit award recipient. "At the turn of the previous century they said, 'come to America, the streets are paved with gold!' says AIA's jury. "Well, this image certainly lives up to that promise"
911 Memorial, in Manhattan, New York, by David Mordoch, is an AIA|LA APA Citation recipient. "[This image is] probably no more or less disturbing than the building itself being put in there, but it is an unusually muscular view of the building which is quite powerful," says AIA's jury. "This is a very interesting photograph"
12/18
911 Memorial, in Manhattan, New York, by David Mordoch, is an AIA|LA APA Citation recipient. "[This image is] probably no more or less disturbing than the building itself being put in there, but it is an unusually muscular view of the building which is quite powerful," says AIA's jury. "This is a very interesting photograph"
Ennis Midnight Storm, in Los Angeles, CA, by Elizabeth Daniels, is an AIA|LA APA Citation recipient. "This minimalist composition with the palm trees in the foreground, captures the power of the plein-airity that is the city of Los Angeles," says AIA's jury. "It is so much about texture. The concrete forms, the blanket of lights that just become this sparkling, glittering, strip, and then a very unusual, ominous sky"
13/18
Ennis Midnight Storm, in Los Angeles, CA, by Elizabeth Daniels, is an AIA|LA APA Citation recipient. "This minimalist composition with the palm trees in the foreground, captures the power of the plein-airity that is the city of Los Angeles," says AIA's jury. "It is so much about texture. The concrete forms, the blanket of lights that just become this sparkling, glittering, strip, and then a very unusual, ominous sky"
Scaffold, in New York City, NY, by Gregory Yager, AIA, is an AIA|LA APA Citation recipient. "The scaffolding in this image has been turned into a painting, a contemporary or modern art piece, says AIA's jury. "This is really luscious. All the basics of construction, the visual density, it’s sensuous"
14/18
Scaffold, in New York City, NY, by Gregory Yager, AIA, is an AIA|LA APA Citation recipient. "The scaffolding in this image has been turned into a painting, a contemporary or modern art piece, says AIA's jury. "This is really luscious. All the basics of construction, the visual density, it’s sensuous"
Glowing Profile, in Seattle, Washington, by Javier Gil Vieco, is an AIA|LA APA Citation recipient. "This one I absolutely loved," says AIA's jury. "It is so minimal. It’s so confusing. It renders architecture as a body. You don’t know if it’s on its side, if it’s a landscape, or what the sky is doing. It just feels sort of sensual in a way that I don’t normally see architecture in a photograph"
15/18
Glowing Profile, in Seattle, Washington, by Javier Gil Vieco, is an AIA|LA APA Citation recipient. "This one I absolutely loved," says AIA's jury. "It is so minimal. It’s so confusing. It renders architecture as a body. You don’t know if it’s on its side, if it’s a landscape, or what the sky is doing. It just feels sort of sensual in a way that I don’t normally see architecture in a photograph"
House on Lava, in Hawai’i, by Michael Wells, is an AIA|LA APA Citation recipient. "The grandeur of this lava field and this little building in the middle of it," says AIA's jury. "What a struggle. It’s quite a powerful, lovely, happy, and sad image. In light of climate change, all of these things that are happening that are changing the face of our planet, to be reminded of how small we are. It’s just so very real"
16/18
House on Lava, in Hawai’i, by Michael Wells, is an AIA|LA APA Citation recipient. "The grandeur of this lava field and this little building in the middle of it," says AIA's jury. "What a struggle. It’s quite a powerful, lovely, happy, and sad image. In light of climate change, all of these things that are happening that are changing the face of our planet, to be reminded of how small we are. It’s just so very real"
Dominus, in Dominus Estate, Yountville, California, by Ryan M. Gobuty, Assoc. AIA, is an AIA|LA APA Citation recipient. "This is just a fairly perfect architectural image," says AIA's jury. "Beginning with an extraordinary piece of architecture itself, but composition, color, tone, texture, and then the seductive, fertile, wine-producing, landscape framed in the bottom fifth. Geometry. It’s got all the basics. It’s too perfect"
17/18
Dominus, in Dominus Estate, Yountville, California, by Ryan M. Gobuty, Assoc. AIA, is an AIA|LA APA Citation recipient. "This is just a fairly perfect architectural image," says AIA's jury. "Beginning with an extraordinary piece of architecture itself, but composition, color, tone, texture, and then the seductive, fertile, wine-producing, landscape framed in the bottom fifth. Geometry. It’s got all the basics. It’s too perfect"
Sydney Opera House Silhouette, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, by Ethan Rohloff, is an AIA|LA APA Merit award recipient. "This photograph is striking, says AIA's jury. "As soon as it came up, we all gasped. It’s taking one of the most iconic buildings of the last 100 years, that has been photographed in all of its glory endlessly, and then flattening it and its shadow out into a two-dimensional graphic"
18/18
Sydney Opera House Silhouette, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, by Ethan Rohloff, is an AIA|LA APA Merit award recipient. "This photograph is striking, says AIA's jury. "As soon as it came up, we all gasped. It’s taking one of the most iconic buildings of the last 100 years, that has been photographed in all of its glory endlessly, and then flattening it and its shadow out into a two-dimensional graphic"
View gallery - 18 images

The Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA|LA) has revealed the winners of the 2019 AIA|LA Architectural Photography Awards. The awards were established to recognize photographers who successfully communicate a designer's work and aim to promote architectural photography as art, not just a means of documenting buildings.

The 2019 AIA|LA Architectural Photography Awards received a total of 450 submissions and, of these, 18 have been chosen as winners: six were selected as Honor award recipients, the highest recognition level, with another half dozen receiving Merit awards and then a like amount gaining Citations.

"This particular group of submissions was excellent and one of the markers of it that struck me, was its diversity of approach," says juror Matthew Rolston, a renowned photographer, artist and creative director in his own right. "We've seen aerials, black and white, narrative, non-narrative, abstract, we've seen things we've never seen before— that's always refreshing."

Ragnarock - Museum of Pop, Rock & Youth Culture, in Roskilde, Denmark, by Michael Moser, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "This is a traditional, classical, iconic building – and if not the building, certainly the image of it," says AIA's jury. "The huge, gold structure cantilevered out looks almost dangerously powerful, as if it’s going to crush a small child who is kneeling beneath it"
Ragnarock - Museum of Pop, Rock & Youth Culture, in Roskilde, Denmark, by Michael Moser, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "This is a traditional, classical, iconic building – and if not the building, certainly the image of it," says AIA's jury. "The huge, gold structure cantilevered out looks almost dangerously powerful, as if it’s going to crush a small child who is kneeling beneath it"

This photograph of the Ragnarock - Museum of Pop, Rock & Youth Culture in Roskilde, Denmark, is one highlight. Designed by Cobe and MVRDV, photographer Michael Moser captures its vibrant color, with the child beneath underlining the scale of the dramatic cantilever. It received an Honor award.

Park Here! in Weil am Rhein, Germany, by Luis Ayala, AIA, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "This photograph derives power from its abstraction," says AIA's jury. "There are some very rigorous compositional effects here. It’s a painting, as a photograph. You understand so intimately what this space is, but here it’s presented in this new way that really makes you look"
Park Here! in Weil am Rhein, Germany, by Luis Ayala, AIA, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "This photograph derives power from its abstraction," says AIA's jury. "There are some very rigorous compositional effects here. It’s a painting, as a photograph. You understand so intimately what this space is, but here it’s presented in this new way that really makes you look"

Park Here! in Weil am Rhein, Germany, sees photographer Luis Ayala find beauty in the mundane. The top-down shot of Herzog & de Meuron's Vitra Design Center parking lot is reminiscent of an abstract painting. It received an Honor award.

Steel City, in Pittsburgh, PA, by Darren Bradley, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "Architecture is so much about context, and this photograph truly captures that," says AIA's jury. "This photographer, by design or by chance, caught a shaft of light between buildings, illuminating a very surreal structure – or at least it appears surreal compared to its neighbors on the street front"
Steel City, in Pittsburgh, PA, by Darren Bradley, is an AIA|LA APA Honor award recipient. "Architecture is so much about context, and this photograph truly captures that," says AIA's jury. "This photographer, by design or by chance, caught a shaft of light between buildings, illuminating a very surreal structure – or at least it appears surreal compared to its neighbors on the street front"

Steel City, in Pittsburgh, PA, depicts the Smithfield-Liberty Garage, designed by Philips B. Bown of Altenhof & Bown. Darren Bradley captured a shaft of the light between buildings, giving it an almost cinematic quality. It also received an Honor award.

Head to the gallery to see the rest of the winners of the 2019 AIA|LA Architectural Photography Awards.

Source: AIA|LA

View gallery - 18 images

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ArchitectureCompetitionPhotographyArchitectsAmerican Institute of Architects
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Adam Williams
Adam Williams
Adam scours the globe from his home in Spain in order to bring the best of innovative architecture and sustainable design to the pages of New Atlas. Most of his spare time is spent dabbling in music, tinkering with old Macintosh computers and trying to keep his even older VW bus on the road.

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