Everyone tries to construct attractive buildings, but joyful architecture tends to be coincidental rather than the result of good planning. The photos submitted for this year’s renowned European Architectural Photography Prize featured surprising colours, shapes and front gardens. The competition’s motto was Joyful Architecture and the photos were selected by the architekturbild e.V. judges together with the German Architecture Museum (DAM) and the Federal Foundation for the Culture of Building. Architect Dirk Härle received the first prize, worth €4,000, for his series of photos, which are a superb interpretation of the motto. A further €1,000 went to the two winners of the second prize: Nikolas Fabian Kammerer and the photo designer duo Alexander Mai and Mikula Platz.
During an awards ceremony in Frankfurt’s German Architecture Museum (DAM), the interdisciplinary, international judges handed out five accolades and 20 plaudits. The 28 best submissions to the competition will then be presented in a touring exhibition in Germany, Europe and non-European countries as well as in a catalogue.
The prize was presented for the first time in 1995 and still an annual competition back then. Since the foundation of non-profit architekturbild e.V. in 2003, it’s held with different mottos every other spring. As a corporate member, Wilkhahn supports the association’s work in putting across the aesthetic of architecture and architecturally relevant issues.
You can find information on the European Architectural Photography Prize on the architekturbild e.V. website.
Article on the 2017 award.