Calling all photography, architecture and Canberra enthusiasts! DESIGN Canberra’s annual photography competition is officially open.

We are seeking new photography which responds to Canberra’s unique design identity and the festival theme of Utopia through the architecture of John Andrews.

Known for his bold, brutalist designs, John Andrews AO is one of Australia’s most internationally renowned architects. His key buildings in Australia are the Cameron Offices (Canberra) and the American Express Tower (Sydney). In Canberra, Andrews’ other projects include:

• The Callam Offices complex is an example of the late 20th century Structuralist Style with its compression masts, thickened cable stays forming triangular steel supports to roof and floors, reinforced-concrete support structure and cover to anchorage of post tensioned cables.
• The Cameron Offices complex was Andrews’ first and largest project in Australia. One of the most inventive buildings of its time, this is one of only 10 Australian buildings recognised on the International Union of Architects’ (UIA) World Register of Twentieth Century Architectural Heritage.
• The University of Canberra Student Residences represents the ideal of innovative modern architecture and planning—clean, functional and well sited. The buildings are a rare residential example of the late twentieth century brutalist style with their strong shapes, boldly composed in off-form reinforced concrete and diagonal orientation with the strong curved element of the roof.
• Toad Hall residence at the Australian National University is one of the few examples of Andrews’ additive style of architecture, in which the basic building block is grouped around shared facilities like petals around the stamen of a flower. In turn, these groupings are attached to stair towers like branches to the trunk of a tree and clustered together vertically over four floors and laterally along the banks of Sullivan’s Creek.

A panel of judges will select 6 finalists (3 for the open category and 3 for the student category). Selected works will be printed and exhibited in an exhibition in EastSpace Gallery from 6-24 November 2019. Additional prizes will include:

• A PhotoAccess annual membership
• A PhotoAccess gift certificate to the value of $200, to be used for one of their creative workshops
• Professionally printed and framed copy of your image thanks to Canberra City Framing
• A copy of PhotoAccess’ book – 100 Views of Canberra – to each of the finalists

Please submit your entries via Instagram. For entries to be considered, remember to hashtag your photographs with #johnandrews #designcanberra #dcphotocomp2019 #student or #open. Please retain a high-resolution copy of the image for printing. Once submissions have been received, a judging panel will review all entries alongside selection criteria. Terms and conditions of entry can be found here.

Join us for an Instameet event with Igers Canberra at the John Andrews Callam Offices in Phillip on 14 September 2019. Free but bookings essential. Book your place here.

Entry to the competition is FREE and submissions close 4 October 2019.

The winners will be announced and prizes awarded at the DESIGN Canberra Creative Careers event on 5 November 2019.

This year’s competition is generously supported by:

Canberra City Framing and PhotoAccess, the ACT and region’s centre for contemporary photography, film-making and the media arts.