Dezeen Magazine

Architecture photographs of the year revealed

World Architecture Festival 2014: an image of the cavernous white interior of Zaha Hadid's Heydar Aliyev Center has been named architectural photograph of the year, from a shortlist that also featured a twisted skyscraper and a sunken flea market (+ slideshow).

Winner: Heydar Aliyev Center by Zaha Hadid - photographed by Hufton and Croft
WINNER – Interior: Heydar Aliyev Center by Zaha Hadid – photographed by Hufton + Crow

The 20 photographs were competing in the 2014 Arcaid Images Architectural Photography Awards, presented at the World Architecture Festival in Singapore last week in four categories – exterior, interior, sense of place, and buildings in use.

Runner-up: Cayan Tower by SOM - photographed by Victor Romeo
RUNNER-UP – Exteriors: Cayan Tower by SOM - photographed by Victor Romeo

The shortlist was selected by a panel of judges that included architects Terry Farrell, Bjarne Hammer of Schmidt Hammer Lassen, and Calvin Tsao and Zack McKown of Brooklyn studio Tsao & McKown Architects.

Runner-up: Encants Flea Market by Inigo Bujedo Aguirre
RUNNER-UP – Buildings in use: Encants Flea Market by Inigo Bujedo Aguirre

The overall winner, voted for by visitors to the festival, was a shot by British photography duo Hufton + Crow of Zaha Hadid's Azerbaijan project – a cultural centre with walls that rise seamlessly from the surface of the surrounding plaza.

Exteriors: Ivar Aasen Centre - photographed by Sverre Fehn
Exteriors: Ivar Aasen Centre by Sverre Fehn - photographed by Ivar Aasen Centre

"The shoot for Zaha Hadid Architects in Azerbaijan was one of those rare occasions these days where Nick and I both travelled together and shot a project at the same time," said Allan Crow. He and partner Nick Hufton had three shots of the building in the shortlist.

Interiors: Danish Maritime Museum chairs by Bjarke Ingels Group - photographed by David Borland
Interiors: Danish Maritime Museum chairs by Bjarke Ingels Group - photographed by David Borland

"It is a huge project and we only had two days to shoot it, so it really needed both of us," he told Dezeen. "The winning shot is a classic example of how we try to capture and communicate architecture through our images."

Interiors: Jochen Haidacher's Inspirational Place - photographed by Mads Mogensen
Interiors: Jochen Haidacher's Inspirational Place - photographed by Mads Mogensen

"A good image to us has to be bold in composition, with strong architectural elements, ideally combined with capturing a moment. We don’t set up or direct the people in our images, rather we compose the frame and then shoot people as they naturally explore the space. This hopefully results in images that have a narrative," he said, adding that the process is made "far easier" when world-class architecture is the backdrop.

Interiors: Michael Albert House by Hans Düttmann - photographed by Mads Mogensen
Interiors: Michael Albert House by Hans Düttmann - photographed by Mads Mogensen

A runner-up from the Sense of Place category is an aerial view by Portuguese photographer Joao Morgado of Alvaro Siza's iconic Leça Swimming Pools full of swimmers, while a runner-up from the Buildings in Use category was a shot by Barcelona-based Inigo Bujedo Aguirre looking down into a sunken flea market by B720 Arquitectura.

Interiors: Long Gallery Straberry Hill House by Horace Walpole, restored by Peter Inskip & Stephen Gee - photographed by Kilian O'Sullivan
Interiors: Long Gallery Straberry Hill House by Horace Walpole, restored by Peter Inskip & Stephen Gee - photographed by Kilian O'Sullivan

Other shortlisted photographs included a view of Bjarke Ingels' Bjerget project that juxtaposed the modular residences against the surrounding neighbourhoods, as well as a cow shed interior and the rooftop of a small house in South Korea.