Coinciding with the kick off of the 2024 AIA Conference on Architecture & Design in Washington, D.C., the AIA St. Louis chapter has announced the winners of its National Photography Competition.
The annual contest, now in its fourth decade, is open to all registered architects in the United States, AIA associates, and students enrolled at accredited architecture schools. This year’s jury included Emily Grandstaff-Rice, 2023 AIA president and associate principal at Perkins&Will; David Polzin, executive director of design at CannonDesign; and architectural photograper Cory Gaffer. Cash prizes were awarded to the first, second, and third place winners as well as the recipient of the Al Fuller Prize, which recognizes photographic excellence in capturing a subject based in the U.S., and the Student Award.
This year’s first place prize went to Taylor Spruill of Norfolk, Virginia, for his abstract, moody shot of a building in Cape Town. Atlanta-based John Stinson received second prize for his photograph of a young boy admiring a Washington, D.C., building, and James Fraerman of Highland Park, Illinois, came in third place for a dynamic portrait of a Grecian ruin. The Fuller Award was awarded to Christopher Fletcher, a student at the University of Michigan, for his photograph of Eero Saarinen’s St. Louis Arch. Finally, the Student Award went to Delany Ryan of the University of Southern California for a photograph of a sunbasking visitor at Junya Ishigami’s pavilion at the Kanagawa Institute of Technology in Japan.
See below for this year’s competition-winning photographs as well as the jury’s selection of 10 outstanding submissions honored with merit awards. The winning photos will also be on diplay at RECORD’s booth (345) on the expo floor of AIA24. See you there!
First Place: Living in Section by Taylor Spruill
Cape Town
Living in Section by Taylor Spruill of Norfolk, Virginia. Photo courtesy AIA St. Louis
Second Place: 555 Feet by John Stinson
Washington, D.C.
555 Feet by John Stinson of Atlanta. Photo courtesy AIA St. Louis
Third Place: Ancient Dream by James Fraerman
Agrigento, Italy
Ancient Dream by James Fraerman of Highland Park, Illinois. Photo courtesy AIA St. Louis
Fuller Award: Compound Curves by Christopher Fletcher
St. Louis
Compound Curves by Christopher Fletcher of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Photo courtesy AIA St. Louis
Student Award: Light Field by Delaney Ryan, University of Southern California
Kanagawa, Japan
Light Field by Delany Ryan of the University of Southern California. Photo courtesy AIA St. Louis
Merit Awards:
Minneapolis MN 048 taken in Minneapolis by Jens Vange. Photo courtesy AIA St Louis
Stainless taken in Los Angeles by John Stinson. Photo courtesy AIA St. Louis
Texas taken in Marfa, Texas, by Robert Meckfessel. Photo courtesy AIA St. Louis
Ascending Red taken in Beaverton, Oregon, by Michael Wilkes. Photo courtesy AIA St. Louis
Pennzoil Place taken in Houston by Gerald Moorhead. Photo courtesy AIA St Louis
"X" Treme taken in Heceta Head, Oregon, by Michael Wilkes. Photo courtesy AIA St. Louis
British Brickwork taken in London by Gerald Shonkwiler. Photo courtesy AIA St Louis
First Light taken in Petra, Jordan, by Danielle Willkens. Photo courtesy AIA St Louis
Windows Into Their Lives taken in Buenos Aires by Alyssa Nealon. Photo courtesy AIA St. Louis
Alongthe Natchez Trace taken in Natchez Trace, Tennessee, by Robert Meckfessel. Photo courtesy AIA St. Louis
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.
