Architizer A+Awards 2027 Photo Guide: Image Rules, Fees and Deadlines

Deadlines and fees

Source: A+Awards fees & deadlines, A+Awards FAQ.

A 3% payment processing fee is added to each transaction. There is no limit on entries or categories, but each category is a separate entry and fee.

What you upload

• 1 to 12 images, single images only: no collages, competition boards or multi-image spreads.
• JPG, JPEG, TIFF or PNG, up to 30 MB each. That is generous: full-resolution exports from a modern camera fit.
• One optional video, up to 2 GB (MP4, MPG or FLV).
• A 300-word project description in English (firm categories: a 300-word firm statement).
• Collaborator credits. Architizer celebrates “all of the collaborators”, including photographers, and asks entrants to credit them correctly.
• Plans and sections are optional. Architizer’s advice is to submit as many assets as needed to portray the work.

You can tailor the images and description for each category you enter.

Built, unbuilt and AI

Typology, Plus and Sustainability categories require built projects completed within the past three years. Renderings belong only in the Unbuilt categories, Architecture +Models & Rendering, and Architecture +AI. Firm categories may mix built and unbuilt work but need at least three projects built in the past ten years. Sustainability entries must first meet 9 of Architizer’s 18 sustainability criteria, then are judged like the rest on Form, Function and Impact.

How the jury sees your photos

The A+Awards jury is a group of 250+ architects, designers, critics, developers and others, and judging is not anonymous: judges see everything you submit. For each of the 125 categories the jury picks five finalists and one Jury winner, and a public vote picks a Popular Choice winner from the same five. That has two practical consequences:

• The lead image does most of the work. In a global field, a judge often decides from the first frame whether to read on. Choose it for the idea of the building, not for the prettiest view.
• Twelve images should tell the project in order: context and approach, the main form, the key spaces, then the details that carry the concept. Twelve good images beat twelve variations of the best one.

A realistic timeline

• For December 4: book the shoot by mid-November. Gallery within 3 business days, final images 10 business days after you choose.
• For January 22: shoot by mid-December so the holidays don’t sit on your critical path.
• Weather: Vancouver winter light is short and grey. Build in a backup date for exteriors, or plan for a twilight exterior when the sky is flat.

How I photograph awards entries

I’m an architectural and interior photographer based in Richmond, working across Metro Vancouver and, with published travel fees, the rest of BC. For an awards entry the brief comes from the rules:

• A shot list built from the categories you are entering, with an image for each thing the judges score.
• Real spaces, no virtual staging, and edits limited to normal correction of exposure, colour and verticals.
• Files delivered to the programme’s spec: JPG or TIFF at full resolution, under 30 MB, single images only, sequenced in the order you want judges to see them.
• A ready credit line (“Photography: Travis Zhang”) and a licence that covers the organiser’s promotional use of winning images.
• Published prices: CA$1,100 for a half day with 12 finished images, or CA$2,000 for a full day with 20 images including twilight, plus 5% GST. Details are in the cost guide.