Architecture Photography: The Latest Architecture and News

Explore how architectural photographers see the cityscape in this dynamic session suitable for beginner and intermediate photographers alike. During this intimate exploration of Boston’s Fort Point and Financial District neighborhoods, you will learn to produce memorable images that convey a sense of place, an expression of the architect’s ideas, and a connection to landscape and surroundings. Professional photographer Emily O’Brien will help you and other enthusiastic photographers see Boston in a whole new way. Take your photography to new heights!

Architecture professor and photographer Henry Plummer has heightened the transformative power of daylight with his cameras and published several remarkable books about light and architecture. His deep interest in light, and his lyrical writing perspective, were formed through his contact with the designer and art theorist György Kepes while studying at MIT. Within his numerous photo journeys Plummer has documented the various facets of daylight in Japan and the Nordic Countries, and of masters like Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn. As a Professor Emeritus of Architecture at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Plummer also still has ambitious plans for future book projects. In the first part of this interview, Plummer shares a variety of insights about understanding light and approaching buildings for photography.

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“Nestled into the desert landscape that defines Nevada’s visage,
Ascaya feels as if it were shaped by the elements.
[...]
Where stone rises up to meet the sky, there is a place called Ascaya.”
- The Ascaya promotional website

Not quite, according to Michael Light’s soon-to-be released book, Lake Las Vegas/Black Mountain. Covering the advance of suburban Nevada into the desert, this two-part book looks at Lake Las Vegas, a then-abandoned victim of the 2008 real estate crash which has since emerged from the other side of bankruptcy, and nearby Ascaya, a high end housing estate that is still in the process of being carved into Black Mountain. Light’s photography doesn’t so much question the developers’ summary as it does, say, blast it, scar it, terrace it and then build a large housing development on the remains. Featuring beautifully composed aerial shots of the construction sites and golf courses covering the desert, the book is a clear condemnation of the destructive and unsustainable development in Nevada. Much more than that, though, Light is highlighting a wider philosophy behind developments like Ascaya and Lake Las Vegas that fundamentally fail to connect American society with the American landscape in a non-destructive way.

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This week in our Architectural Photographers series, we look at Spanish architect Montse Zamorano, who after living in Shanghai for a year decided to photograph architecture. She is currently based in New York, where she is studying for a Masters in Branding at SVA as a Fulbright student. Montse works internationally as a freelance photographer and videographer for studios such as Foster and Partners, Álvaro Siza and Héctor Fernández Elorza.

Fifteen images ranging from a close-up of Herzog & de Meuron’s Beijing National Stadium to a portrait of a graveyard-turned home in the Philippines, have been selected as the finalists of the Chartered Institute of Building’s (CIOB) 2014 Art of Building Photographer of the Year competition. The public will now decide who will take home the title and a £3,000 cash prize.

“There is a cornucopia of styles and stories in this year’s final,” said Saul Townsend, CIOB spokesman in a press release. “In a world full of high definition colour technology, black and white photography still inspires a host of photographers.  Voters are in for a visual treat and will hopefully be inspired to look at the built environment in a new way and to take part themselves next year.”

The fifteen finalists were selected by panel of judges that included photography critic and editor Sue Steward, award-winning photographer Matt Wain and the editor of Construction Manager magazine, Elaine Knutt.

Take a look at the 15 finalists after the break and don’t forget to vote for your favorite before January 11, 2015 on CIOB's Art of Building website. The winner will be announced February 5.

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Rest stops are a disappearing sight in North America. Brought by tight highway budgets, and the increasing number of off-exit fast food outlets and gas stations, these roadside oases may soon become extinct. Photographer Ryann Ford wants to make sure they’re documented before this happens. Her project, “The Last Stop” is a series of photographs taken of unique rest stops across the nation. A Kickstarter campaign has been started to fund Ford’s work, and the ensuing publication of her photographs. Learn more, after the break!

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Architecture photographer Danica O. Kus has shared with us images of Frank Gehry's recently completed Fondation Louis Vuitton. Labeled as a "late-career triumph" by Los Angeles Times critic Christopher Hawthorne, the sailed glass structure teeters on the edge of a Parisian water garden in Jardin d’Acclimatation. For a closer look at the building's much-discussed structure, check out all of Kus' images after the break.

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In honor of World Photo Day (August 19th) ArchDaily wanted to thank the photographers who bring to life the projects that we publish every day. So we asked architects to weigh in on the work of some of our most-appreciated architecture photographers. Here, Alberto Campo Baeza writes on behalf of Javier Callejas.

In honor of World Photo Day (August 19th) ArchDaily wanted to thank the photographers who bring to life the projects that we publish every day. So we asked 15 architects to weigh in on the work of some of our most-appreciated architecture photographers. Here, Steven Holl writes on behalf of Iwan Baan.

In honor of World Photo Day (August 19th) ArchDaily wanted to thank the photographers who bring to life the projects that we publish every day. So we asked architects to weigh in on the work of some of our most-appreciated architecture photographers. Here, WMR Arquitectos writes on behalf of Sergio Pirrone.

In honor of World Photo Day (August 19th) ArchDaily wanted to thank the photographers who bring to life the projects that we publish every day. So we asked architects to weigh in on the work of some of our most-appreciated architecture photographers. Here, Francine Houben of Mecanoo writes on behalf of Christian Richters.

In honor of World Photo Day (August 19th) ArchDaily wanted to thank the photographers who bring to life the projects that we publish every day. So we asked architects to weigh in on the work of some of our most-appreciated architecture photographers. Here, Richard Hassell of WOHA writes on behalf of Patrick Bingham-Hall.

The role that photography plays in disseminating and even shaping architecture has long been under scrutiny, perhaps now more than ever as the effort required for anybody to snap a photo and share it worldwide has decreased to almost nothing.

With that in mind, we hoped to find out what it takes to create photos that really do justice to the architecture they depict. We asked architects to write a few words about the photographers they trust most to document their projects, and the response we got revealed not only architects' incredible gratitude toward their favorite photographers, but in many cases deep friendships and even collaborative relationships which drive both architect and photographer to greater heights.

Some of the photographers featured may be familiar to readers, such as Iwan Baan, Thomas Mayer or Roland Halbe; others may not. But what's certain is that without all of these talented photographers, architecture as we know it today - and this website - just wouldn't be the same.

See all the World Photo Day Honorees here.

In honor of World Photo Day (August 19th) ArchDaily wanted to thank the photographers who bring to life the projects that we publish every day. So we asked architects to weigh in on the work of some of our most-appreciated architecture photographers. Here, Fernando Forte of FGMF writes on behalf of Fran Parente.

The architect and architectural photographer Fernanado Guerra the studio FG+SG with his brother Sérgio Guerra in Portugal co-founded 15 years ago. Nowadays they are responsible for most of the dissemination of Portuguese contemporary architecture.

Fernando's remarkable work is honored in our celebration of the World Photo Day through the words of renowed brazilian architect Marcio Kogan, from studiomk27.