99 countries, 1495 views: Luis Ferreira Alves Prize becomes a global stage for architectural photography

Great response to the Luis Ferreira Alves Prize: The Prize will have two highlights in 2025 - the announcement of the winners and the public celebration of the winners

The deadline for submissions ended yesterday, 25 April, for candidates for the Luis Ferreira Alves Prize | A Contemporary Look at Architecture, which has now marked the 2025 cultural calendar with two significant events, reaffirming its role in highlighting architectural photography as an artistic language and a means of critically interpreting the built environment.

We are delighted to share the Prize’s excellent results.

We have recorded thousands of direct visits to the competition from 99 countries, with Portugal naturally leading the way. But above all, the most significant thing is the 1495 submissions received, with the participation of recognised and highly talented photographers.

These results have only been possible thanks to the support and involvement of all the partners, and your contribution has been essential in affirming this Award as a fair and worthy tribute to the work and legacy of Luis Ferreira Alves, as well as ensuring that the initiative is consolidated in the panorama of photography and architecture.

We want to express our gratitude for all the support given to us, and we remain fully committed to its successful realisation and to building a constructive and effective collaboration with all the entities involved.

Established as a tribute to the life and work of photographer Luis Ferreira Alves, a key figure in architectural photography in Portugal, the Prize is a biennial international competition that seeks to distinguish contemporary views on architecture, celebrating the memory of the author and the impact of his unique approach - simultaneously rigorous, poetic and deeply rooted in the dialogue between image and space.

From announcement to celebration: the two central moments of 2025

28 June 2025 (Saturday), 16:30 - Ceremony for the official announcement of the winners

With the support of Casa da Arquitectura - Portuguese Centre for Architecture, the competition’s Strategic Partner, the official announcement of the winners of the 2025 edition will take place on 28 June at 16:30, culminating in a public ceremony marked by the projection of the winning photographic series, institutional interventions and a meeting/conversation with the members of the competition jury made up of architect Eduardo Souto de Moura, photographers Hélène Binet and Paulo Catrica.

The event will be attended by representatives of the promoting and sponsoring organisations, strategic and institutional partners, the heirs of Luis Ferreira Alves, figures from the academic, artistic and cultural community, as well as the media, in a moment of special symbolism for the world of architecture and photography.

The ceremony will take place at Casa da Arquitectura, reinforcing its strategic link to the Prize and to Luis Ferreira Alves, whose estate was donated to him in 2021, the year in which he also received the Medal of Cultural Merit from the Ministry of Culture at Casa da Arquitectura.

12 September 2025 - Awards ceremony, exhibition and catalogue launch

Antiga Casa da Câmara (Porto), an emblematic space in the city, will host the awards ceremony for the 1st edition of the competition on September 12 at 18h (time to be confirmed), in an event that will also mark the official opening of the exhibition of the winning projects and the presentation of the catalogue for the 2025 edition.

The exhibition, open until the beginning of November, will bring together the winning photographic works, accompanied by critical texts and essays that contextualise the selected projects, giving them a prominent place on the contemporary artistic and cultural scene.

The solemn moment will be attended by the winning authors and representatives of the partner and sponsoring organisations - including CIN, BPI with the support of the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation and Canon - reaffirming the collective commitment to valuing artistic creation and preserving the memory of Luis Ferreira Alves, whose values and legacy continue to inspire new generations of photographers and architects.

A network of partnerships for culture

The Luis Ferreira Alves Award is promoted under a protocol established between the photographer's heirs and the competition's promoters - Porto City Council (CMP) and Cityscopio - Associação Cultural (CCA), with the institutional support of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto (FAUP), the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDRN), the Marques da Silva Foundation Institute (FIMS), the Order of Architects (OA), as well as the support of Casa da Arquitectura - Centro Português de Arquitectura, the competition's Strategic Partner. The main sponsors of the awards are the CIN brand - 1st Prize, the "la Caixa" Foundation in collaboration with BPI - 2nd Prize and Canon - 3rd Prize. We also have the support of Metro do Porto, AMAG and other media and technical partners in communicating and publicising the competition.