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2010 Winners & Finalists

Elements

by Jim Dunn

Winner, 2010

The image I submitted was taken about a year ago during the construction of the Riverside Museum in Glasgow which will open in Spring 2011. It has been designed by Zaha Hadid architects. For the past few years, I have been documenting the construction of the building which is being constructed on the site of an old dockyard. Every couple of months I go down to the site and photograph the next stage - as you can probably imagine I have hundreds of images.
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A Taste of Summer

by Paul Stephenson

The photograph depicts The London Eye in its wider context as a backdrop and focus for that vast London pleasure beach which is the South Bank. Wherever you see it from, it adds to the landscape and draws you in. Here, the London Eye forms the backdrop for children at play in the fountains.
I’m currently studying for a degree in photography at the OCA and I’m very interested in people and their interactions with the built environment. In this water play area, for instance, it was interesting to follow how parents and children use the play area, some parents encouraging their children to participate and get soaked whilst others would discourage their children to get “messy”, likewise the children were either tentative or completely up for it. The South Bank is always a favourite area of mine because of the combination of culture, play and entertainment which caters for a vibrant mix of Londoners, tourists and business people, all this and wonderful buildings, old and new lining the Thames. I was particularly pleased with this image as I think it presents a new and alternative view of an iconic structure.

Bamboo Slum

by Mohammad Rakibul Hasan
The Rayer Bazaar is in Dhaka. On the nearby Buriganges River Bank, many working people live in bamboo slums. The dwellings are particularly at risk during the rainy season because of flash flooding, during which time the inhabitants use inexpensive durable materials as reinforcements.
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I chose to shoot this place because I love how innovative the houses are. To me, the art of building is all about creating a structure which suits both the people and the environment.

Beauty in Decay

by Jeremy Gibbs
I have been documenting graffiti and street art for the past 3 years and just over a year ago one of the street artists I was filming asked if I would take a look at an abandoned asylum which they thought might be a good location to paint in.
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I was immediately transfixed by the building and it inspired me to take more images of buildings that have been left derelict – sometimes for over twenty or thirty years. This image was taken on a recent explore in Germany. This building is still very stately and serene, despite some vandalism and it has some real history – Adolf Hitler convalesced there after the Battle of the Somme. To me the beauty is in the decay – the peeling paint and the history – you can almost imagine the nurses walking down the brightly coloured corridors that seem to get more and more vivid with age.

Earthen Architecture

abhijit dey
I am very interested in rural India and I try to capture it’s evolution as more and more areas become modern urban landscapes. Earthen huts were the prototype of the modern multi-storey building. Sadly, they are now on the verge of extinction, even in a predominantly rural country like India.
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I believe we are about to see the last of such structures in the very near future as almost everybody is now solvent enough to erect at least a brick house for themselves. For me, the image reflects times gone by, and contrasts our march to progress with the vulnerability of our ancestral sites.

Esplanade Bridge

Declan Prendiville
I took the photograph when I was backpacking a few years ago. I had seen lots of pictures of the Esplanade Bridge and set my sights on capturing it from a new perspective, so I went underneath. I liked the fact that from that angle you could capture all the curves which are the signature of the structure.
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To me the photograph has a very modern, even futuristic, feel thanks also to the spotlights reflecting off the water of the Singapore River.
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Flooding by Design

Paul Stefan
The shot was taken about 3 years ago in Reykjavik, Iceland at approx 4.00 am while I was out experiencing the night time light. Walking around the city, looking for a striking image, I came across this building (the Radhus City Hall) with its part moat and watery reflections and knew it would make a great photograph. For me, it is about the form, function and elements of different styles of buildings all coming together to form an image that, to me, encapsulates the art of building.
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His First Building, Aged 11

Phil Goodwin

Tom has recently developed a passion for building. It’s not something he has always been into - except for when he was a little baby and he had a passion for diggers. I heard about the competition from my uncle, who works in the building industry and is a keen amateur photographer. 

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Every day, Tom goes out to the building and spends lots of time there making improvements. For me the picture encapsulates and celebrates Tom’s passion.
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Midlevels

Keith Pickavance

I didn’t so much choose the subject of this photograph as have it thrust upon me. I had just arrived in Hong Kong and woke up with jet-lag at about 4am to be greeted by that sight out of my window. I could hardly believe how beautiful it looked and straightaway reached for the camera. 

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It took about five shots (using different apertures and speeds) before I got what I was looking for. I had to draw the curtains across the window to cut out internal reflections and each time I had to reach through the curtains to set the shutter on the camera, which was poised on a pile of books! Although I have looked at it many times I still see new things in the photograph every time I look at it.
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Ode to Escher

Mick Ryan

The image is of an old abattoir building in Shanghai, China which was built in 1933. I was taken aback by its peculiar architecture and surreal atmosphere. As well as an architectural photographer 

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I am also a big fan of the Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher and I instantly put the two together in my mind. I really felt that the architect had somehow managed to bring Escher's vision into the real world. I intentionally kept this quite a low contrast image to reflect the pencil drawings of Escher that came to mind when I studied the structure.
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Vanishing Point

André Boto
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Zaragoza Delicia Station

Wojtek Gurak

I tend to call myself an architectural traveller. I usually research the places I intend to go, searching for architectural gems which could be worth visiting. I’m a big fan of the clean, contemporary, often white, architecture which can be found right across Spain and I was therefore delighted by the gleaming façade of the Delicias Station.

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When I entered the halls I was amazed by what I saw - the train station is like a sculpture from outside and a modern painting from inside. Most people don't consider train stations to have beauty, especially as they hurry to make their journeys, but it is there if only you stop for a moment and look around.

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