760 fps "Everybody wants to be a cat..."

760 projects entered, in 15 sections, at the National Architecture Biennale 2023. Thousands of impeccable photographs, worthy of any magazine, not just Architecture 1906, hundreds of outstanding photographers and yet only 40 projects entered in the Architectural Photography section. Together we've got it wrong somewhere. Whether it was about the communication of the competition, whether it was a question of the interest in this section or architectural photography in general, doesn't matter now. But still, a photograph can tell the whole story! Not in this case.

I am only 18

It will soon be two years since I've been a coordinating editor at Arhitectura magazine. Photography and writing have been, and still are, two dear friends that I have combined in print and online for more than 18 years. Probably, one complementing or complementing the other, but always together, because personally I excel neither in photography nor in writing. So I use both, that's what friendship is, not always in the same measure, it depends on how it suits me better, anyway, they can't substitute each other. In general, when it comes to photography, when the eye sees and the heart asks... objects, nature, people, buildings, time, spaces, light, shadows, situations, all these are easily translated into strong emotions with a single press of the shutter release. In the National Architecture Biennale 2023, Photography section, those who were able to convey the same emotion in writing and respect the theme "Together" were among the nominees. I, for one, was looking for this.

Here's to a new major and on the record.

Being part of the jury of the BNA 2023 Photography section, alongside two people I appreciate in everything they do in this field, Andrei Mărgulescu and Vlad Eftenie, was like a new high for me. At your first coming of age, implicitly at 18, you get the confirmation that you have discernment in terms of the next decisions you will make in life. At this new photography coming of age, the judging of the Architectural Photography section, meeting Andrei and Vlad, revealing the marks I gave to each of the projects and the first appearance of a common denominator, namely the nominees and the winner of the competition, reconfirmed to me that everything I have learned, experienced, felt or believed, on one side or the other of the camera, subjective or not, is not wrong. For a better transparency of the decisions taken by the jury on the nominations and the award of the section, I reproduce here the full minutes.
Architecturalphotography is a field of visual expression that is subject torigorous aesthetic demands.In addition to the accuracy and precision of the rendering of perspective,space and atmosphere, construction details, architectural expression of the subject represented - the jury looked at the way in which the visual narrative discourse is structured - whether through the use of a single image or a series of images. The use of theemotionalfactormay alsobe able to enhance the impact of the work. The jury looked for and appreciated theconvergenceofthese aspects, both objectiveand subjective, and the ability of theimage-textrelationshipto communicate theintendedmessage,withinthe overall theme.

Waiting Witnesses - Section Award

The series hascompositional and narrativecoherence, the three imagesmanagetotell a complex story with sensitivity. The architecture becomes a backdrop that plays an active role in shaping the lulls and silences that define both therelationshipofthe characters to thespaceitself and thespace between subject and viewer. The project meetsthe requirements of the theme.

Building Faces - Nomination

Frontal photography and indirect lighting transform the architectural language into an almost didactic tool for the comparative appropriation of elements of architectural typology:door, window,eaves, tympanum,roof, rooflight, beam, texture, color and materials - together, they make up the "body" of architecture. The projectmeetsthe requirements of the theme.
The jury appreciated the ability of an individual image,mirroring the proposed text, to shape a complex story. The authordistances himself, neutrally, allowing the voice of the architectural ensemble represented to convey the idea of a "togetherness" through the creative use of thestation point, perspective, thecentralityofthe connecting element and the balanced, towards neutral, use of aesthetic means. The projectmeetsthe requirements of the theme.

Just a simple addition, outside the minutes

In any competition, whether a photography competition or not, the jury must also, like the participants, follow the rules ad litteram. In this case, many of the 40 entries did not follow the theme "Together", neither in title, nor in description, nor in condition, nor in fact. A pity, not necessarily for the participants, for whom it was simply a question of will, time or state. It was a tough test for us, as judges, having to reject a large number of photos that fully deserved the appreciation and attention of the general public. Not just ours.

But how does architectural photography work?

This is where I will hand over the baton to the two professionals with whom I had the honor to be part of this jury. Andrei and Vlad have promised to get more involved in the pages of Arhitectura magazine, print and online, with a series of articles from which, in my opinion, we all have something to learn, whether we are human beings, architects, budding photographers, amateurs or professionals. You can read about a small part of this in the pages that follow, from Andrei and Vlad, the rest, in the future, perhaps in a special issue of Arhitectura magazine, themedbooks,publications, photography and film. Did I say movie?

Books, Photography and Film Gala, Targoviste

Yes, you read it right, the movie gala. Of course we give infinite credit to books, magazines and photography, but the future is in video, like it or not, like it or not, we all know that. I know, I want to and I like it, I started to dabble in videography a few years ago. What did I discover in Targoviste? In 2025, the National Architecture Biennale aims to set up the "Architectural Films" section, a section that is absolutely necessary given that in the last two years we have seen the perfectionism and creativity of architects at work in this direction too. In Târgoviște, whether it was books, magazines, photography or video, together we discovered what it is like to go beyond the photograph, the pages you read or the screen on which you saw a movie. After all, the important thing is to do what you love. And enjoying what you do. So how was Targoviste?