Awe-Inspiring Architecture Celebrated in International Photo Competition

Spotlight
Matt Growcoot
A split-screen view showing a cable-stayed bridge over a harbor on the left and a person and child walking under a geometric, modern architectural structure on the right.
Photo by Kelvin Yuen, left, and Ingo Rasp, right.

Exterior, interiors, facades, and friezes are all on display after the Architecture Photography MasterPrize (APMP) revealed its 2026 winners.

Photographers from 59 countries entered more than a thousand projects across exterior and interior architectural photography.

Rows of tall, metal bookshelves filled with books in a bright, minimalist library featuring walls with a repeating circular pattern.
Interior Architecture Photography of the Year. Tzu Chin Yu of TCY Studio for his study of the Kanazawa Umimirai Library by Coelacanth K&H Architects.
A high-angle view of a bright, minimalist library with rows of bookshelves, a person standing in an aisle, and a wall featuring a repeating pattern of circular cutouts.
Interior Architecture Phootgraphy of the Year. Tzu Chin Yu of TCY Studio for his study of the Kanazawa Umimirai Library by Coelacanth K&H Architects.
A bright, minimalist library interior features rows of bookshelves under a high ceiling with walls patterned by circular cutouts.
Interior Architecture Photography of the Year. Tzu Chin Yu of TCY Studio for his study of the Kanazawa Umimirai Library by Coelacanth K&H Architects.

An international jury of photographers, editors, curators, and visual professionals selected the winners, and 53 projects received the Best of Best distinction. The jury then named the two top titles, Exterior and Interior Architecture Photography of the Year, from that group.

Three adjacent skyscrapers with distinct glass and concrete grid facades fill the frame.
Exterior Architecture Photography of the Year. Derry Ainsworth for Hong Kong Modern Mosaics, a series of tightly framed façades that turns the city’s towers into patterns.
A red brick wall stands next to a white building with blue window frames and a modern, dark gray facade with repeating slots.
Exterior Architecture Photography of the Year. Derry Ainsworth for Hong Kong Modern Mosaics, a series of tightly framed façades that turns the city’s towers into patterns.
A modern building with a curved, terracotta-colored facade featuring vertical fins, set against a dark, grid-patterned skyscraper.
Exterior Architecture Photography of the Year. Derry Ainsworth for Hong Kong Modern Mosaics, a series of tightly framed façades that turns the city’s towers into patterns.

In the 2026 edition, entries came from 92 countries, and the 59 countries represented in photography are part of that total. The APMP is open to photographers at all levels and celebrates work that shows how architecture is seen, understood, and remembered.

The APMP is the photography program of the Architecture MasterPrize (AMP), an international awards program now in its eleventh edition that also recognizes architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and product design.

Best of Best Highlights

An aerial view of a large, U-shaped pink apartment complex nestled in a lush, green mountain range under a dramatic, cloudy sunset sky.
Heart in the Mist by Suirong Huang, APMP 2026 Best of Best in Cityscapes _ Exterior Architecture Photography.
A cluster of colorful, dome-shaped buildings sits along a coastline at sunset, with the ocean visible in the background.
Majara by Amirreza Dehnadi, APMP 2026 Best of Best in Sustainable Interior Architecture Photography.
A wide, curved concrete structure features a large skylight with a geometric grid pattern, casting shadows onto a set of stairs and a smooth floor.
Ingo Rasp: Stuttgart 21 (Interior Details)
A cable-stayed bridge spans a wide harbor filled with cargo ships, with a dense city and mountains in the background at sunset.
Kelvin Yuen: The Conduits of Tension and Light, a view of the Tsing Ma Bridge (Bridges)
A modern building facade featuring a grid of illuminated office or laboratory windows partially obscured by angled, translucent triangular panels.
Brad Feinknopf: Detail from the Vagelos Laboratory at UPenn by Behnisch Architekturbüro (Exterior Details)
A large, curved white architectural structure frames a glass wall with a diagonal grid pattern, reflecting onto a polished floor where two people stand.
Victor Romero: The Shape of Modern China (Other Interior)
A modern skyscraper with a distinctive geometric facade and a large open-air cutout stands above a grassy slope with decorative spheres and a paved walkway.
VIVO HQ, Shenzhen (designed by NBBJ) by Kris Provoost, APMP 2026 Best of Best in Commercial Exterior Photography.
A person in a green outfit walks across a large, minimalist, white-floored hall featuring a prominent curved ramp and circular ceiling cutout.
Zayed National Museum by Deed Studio, APMP 2026 Best of Best in Cultural Interior Architecture Photography.
A woman in a black abaya and a young child in traditional clothing walk across a vast, minimalist plaza beneath a large, geometric, light-colored architectural canopy.
Ingo Rasp: Zayed National Museum (Cultural Exterior)
A person walks along a white walkway beneath a large, intricate geometric dome structure at the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Francesco Russo: Louvre Abu Dhabi (Cultural Exterior)
A bird flies above the HSBC Main Building in Hong Kong, with other skyscrapers visible against a blue, cloudy sky.
Inside Out by GaryFive, APMP 2026 Best of Best in Commercial Exterior Photography
A wide, indoor corridor with brick walls and flooring features a large set of stairs on the right and a long, low ceiling with recessed lighting.
Churchill College by David Valinsky, APMP 2026 Best of Best in Educational Interior Architecture Photography
A modern, multi-story white building with many windows stands on stilts atop a rocky coastal cliff at twilight.
Alex Fradkin: Fogo Island Inn, Newfoundland, Canada, designed by Todd Saunders (Hospitality Exterior)
A black and white interior view of a modern building featuring curved, sculptural walls and rectangular skylights.
Lucia Cooper: Frank Gehry’s Interior Windows (Interior Details)
A person stands in the illuminated triangular doorway of a thatched-roof structure connected to a concrete walkway, surrounded by trees at dusk.
Bridge House, Karjat — A Habitable Bridge by Althaf Abdul Rasheed, APMP 2026 Best of Best in Residential Exterior Architecture Photography
A grand room with red damask walls, a large central oil painting of a family, ornate furniture, a chandelier, and double wooden doors.
Blenheim Palace by Will Pryce, APMP 2026 Best of Best in Historic Interior Architecture Photography
A glass display case sits next to a large mirror reflecting an elevator lobby with a metallic elevator door and a checkered floor.
Barbara Karant: 820 Ebony/Jet Best of Best in Historic – Interior Architecture Photography

The complete list of 2026 photography winners is on the AMP website. Details on the 2027 call for entries are on the architectural photography awards page.

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