Competition Regulations

Objectives

The ‘Luis Ferreira Alves International Photography Competition | A Contemporary Look at Architecture’ aims to inspire the creation of a photographic series that effectively conveys an architectural work or ensemble, promoting architecture through photography.

Quality of the Photographic Series - To encourage the production of photographic series made up of 5 to 7 images that present:

• A coherent and poetic visual narrative;
• High technical and artistic quality;
• Originality and the ability to explore the essence of the architectural work.

Visual and Conceptual Exploration - Promoting the creation of series that:

• Relate the photographs to each other, in order or with a cumulative effect;
• Emphasise fundamental concepts of the work and the architect;
• Capture unique moments and points of view, increasing understanding and interpretation of the architectural space.

Phenomenological Perspective - Encourage the production of photographic series that:

• Portray different perspectives and phenomenological experiences of architectural space;
• Communicate the values and programme underpinning the work;
• Offer a rich and dynamic architectural promenade.

Humanisation and Transformation of Space - Encourage the capture of:

• The multidimensional and changing richness of architectural space as a living organism;
• The presence of the human scale and the humanist values that structure the work.

Themes and Participants

All photography projects must relate to the theme and objectives proposed when the competition is announced;

The competition includes a single general category—Architecture—which encompasses any photography format, without limitations regarding colour, whether analogue or digital, as long as the images are submitted in digital format;

This competition is open to the general public;

Participation in this competition can be individual or collective, provided that the group presents itself as a single competing unit;

Each participant may submit only one project;

Participants must guarantee in writing that the images submitted have not won prizes in other competitions;

Submission of Proposals

Photographic projects must be submitted to https://site.picter.com/luis-ferreira-alves-photoaward-2025 by April 25th 2025 (deadline: 11:59 p.m. Portugal Time - Greenwich Mean Time), following the instructions on the platform, which will request the following information.

To be completed on https://site.picter.com/luis-ferreira-alves-photoaward-2025:

Profile

• First name, last name (recommended)
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Nationality
• Postal address (recommended)
• Telephone number
• Biography (max. 1500 characters) (recommended)
• Email

Project

• Project title (recommended)
• Year of creation
• Place of creation
• Project description - descriptive text of no more than 2000 characters (recommended)
• The submitted project must consist of a series of 5 to 7 photographs

Single Image

• Image title
• Year of creation
• Place of creation
• The images must not contain any form of digital signature or watermark

The entrant must ensure that the photographs submitted have sufficient quality to be printed for the exhibition and catalogue, should they win. This means that the winning participant will be required to submit high-resolution files for printing and colour proofs at a later stage.

The works will be evaluated as a whole (as a photographic series), and it is a prerequisite that the photographs possess undeniable technical quality.

Jury

The jury will consist of 5 individuals with recognised expertise, prestige, credibility, and international experience:

• A national figure linked to the world of architecture with national and international merit and recognition by peers: in the 1º contest, it will be architect Eduardo Souto de Moura.
• A national figure linked to the world of architectural photography with unquestionable national and international merit and recognition by peers: in the 1º contest, it will be photographer Paulo Catrica
• A foreign figure linked to the world of architectural photography with unquestionable international merit and recognition by peers: in the 1º contest, it will be photographer Hélène Binet
• A figure connected to curatorship, art direction, or editorial world with national and/or international merit
• A distinguished national figure whose work has profoundly shaped cultural discourse and artistic appreciation

The Advisory Board and Organising Commission will be responsible for:

• Ensuring that the jury of the International Competition is composed of individuals of recognised competence;
• Defining the list of proposed names for the jury;
• Identifying the theme of each competition;

The jury’s evaluation process will be done in three phases conducted via the platform https://site.picter.com/luis-ferreira-alves-photoaward-2025 and all phases will have as base the following five evaluation criteria:

• Quality and poetic content of the narrative
• Technical quality of the photographs
• Artistic and visual quality of the photographs
• Originality
• The series' ability to present the architectural work distinctively, using a visual narrative that explores the concepts behind the work and the architect, where the images relate to each other either through sequence or cumulative effect

In the first phase, the organisation will pre-select the photographic projects, ensuring that all entries meet sufficient photographic and artistic documentary quality.

In the second phase, the jury will rank the submissions to create a shortlist of 10 projects.

In a third phase, there will be a more detailed assessment of the 10 finalists, who will be contacted to send the photo files in print-quality TIFF format. Based on the hard copies of the shortlisted entries, the jury's assessment at this stage will be carried out in person by all members. The result of this assessment will also be recorded on the platform.

From the 10 best photographic series selected by the jury, the top 3 will be chosen for the 1st, 2nd, and/or 3rd prizes. Depending on the winners' profiles, the jury may assign the 2nd and 3rd prizes as a "beginning of career" award (for a young photographer) or a "discovery" award (for an unknown talent). There is no obligation to award a "beginning of career" or "discovery" prize.

Once proposals have been accepted for evaluation and classified as finalists, they are considered to be of sufficient quality to be awarded all the prizes, including 1st prize. However, the Jury reserves the right not to award the 1st prize if it considers, in a reasoned manner, that no work has met the required criteria of excellence. In this event, the decision must be justified in the minutes and taken unanimously or by qualified majority.

The Jury reserves the right to select fewer than 10 projects for the finalist list if the lack of quality of the works justifies it;

There will be no appeal against the jury's decisions, and they are responsible for handling any cases not covered by these regulations.

Jury members and organisers cannot participate in the competition.

Prizes

The top three projects will receive a monetary award and professional photography equipment, as follows:

• 1st Prize – €10.000, sponsored by CIN
• 2nd Prize – €4.000, sponsored by BPI
• 3rd Prize – voucher for photographic equipment worth €1.500, sponsored by Canon

All prize winners will receive the book Luis Ferreira Alves in the Works of Eduardo Souto de Moura.

All prize winners will receive a certificate.

The winners will be entitled to 3 (three) copies of the exhibition catalogue.

The authors of prize-winning and other submitted projects will be notified of the competition results via Email.

The authors of the selected projects must submit the photographic files in TIFF format, along with colour proofs, within 20 days after the announcement of the results. This deadline is essential to ensure the project’s publication and printing for the exhibition. Failure to comply with this point will invalidate the publication of the project, except in justified situations accepted by the organisation.

General Provisions

Only works that comply with these regulations will be admitted to the competition.

Submission of projects to the competition implies that participants acknowledge and agree to be bound by these regulations.

Failure to comply with any of the points in the regulations will result in disqualification from the competition.

Any matters not covered by these regulations will be resolved by deliberation of the competition jury.

The prize organisers and Cityscopio - Associação Cultural / scopio® reserve the right to publish and disseminate the images submitted to the competition in accordance with Portuguese law n.º 2/99 of anuary 13th.

The prize organisers and Cityscopio - Associação Cultural / scopio® will safeguard the copyright of the projects submitted to the competition. No payment will be due for using the images in any publications or promotional events related to this photography competition.

The photographs printed for the exhibition, once the exhibition and any subsequent tours are over, will be incorporated into the Luis Ferreira Alves Photography Award archive.

The photographs of the 1st Prize winner will become the property of the prize sponsor – CIN, while maintaining the moral rights of the author.

Promoting Entities, Organisation, and Technical Commission

Promoting organisations: Porto City Council (CMP) + Cityscopio-Cultural Association (CCA) + Casa da Arquitetura (CA)

Advisory Board: one representative from each Promoting Entity + Architect Eduardo Souto Moura + Family Representative + one Representative from the Architecture, Art and Image Research Group of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto - Centre for Architecture and Urbanism Studies / (FAUP - CEAU/AAI).

Organising commission: one representative from each Promoting Entity + one representative from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto (FAUP), appointed by the Board.

Cityscopio - Cultural Association (CCA): responsible for the operationalisation and management of the Luis Ferreira Alves Photography Award.

The jury comprises five people with recognised competence, prestige, credibility, and international experience.

Sponsoring Entities:

• In the Awards: CIN, BPI, Canon
• In Communication: Metro do Porto
• Organisation: CCDRN

Strategic Partners

• CCDRN

Institutional Partners

• OA
• FIMS