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At the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Conference in Chicago last week, amidst notable keynote speakers and events, the AIA St. Louis Chapter unveiled the 2022 winners of the annual National Architectural Photography Competition. Open to licensed architects in the United States, AIA associates, and students of accredited architecture schools, the competition honors professionals and students in the realms of architecture and design illustrating the built environments through photographs.

The jury awards cash prizes to the top three selections ($500 for first place, $400 for second, and $300 for third) and a fourth place Al Fuller Award for a subject in the U.S. Of almost 500 photographs, this year’s first place prize went to Iowa-city based Sanjay Dinker Jani for a close-up of the Rogers Stirk Harbour-designed Neo Bankside apartments’s translucent exterior. Michael B. Wilkes, of La Jolla, California, won second place for a detail of Culver City’s surreal copper-tinged Hayden Tract building by Eric Owen Moss Architects; Wilkes also received the Fuller prize for a black and white photo of the twisting concrete of San Francisco's angular Vaillancourt Fountain in San Francisco. Atlanta-based Danielle Willkens was awarded third place for an image depicting a colorful mess of abandoned appliances in Alabama.

First Place: City Reflections and Refractions by Sanjay Dinker Jani

London, England

City Reflections and Refractions taken in London, England by Sanjay Dinker Jani, based in Iowa City. Photo courtesy St. Louis AIA Chapter

Second Place: Orange Twist by Michael B. Wilkes

Culver City, California

Orange Twist taken in Culver City, California by Michael B. Wilkes based in La Jolla, California. Photo courtesy St. Louis AIA Chapter

Third Place: Cycles by Danielle Willkens

Selma, Alabama

Cycles taken in Selma, Alabama by Danielle Willkens based in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo courtesy St. Louis AIA Chapter

This year’s jury included Takeshi Tornier of Snøhetta, Saint Louis University professor Bradley Bailey, and architect Qian Huang of HOK. The panel also doled out ten additional merit awards and 13 honorable mentions, for photos taken in Bangladesh, Argentina, London, Burkina Faso, India, Columbia, the U.S., and Greece.

See last year's winners here and read more about this year’s awards and next year’s competition at the St. Louis AIA Chapter’s website.

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