Halftone member, Gonçalo Lobo Pinheiro wins "Best of Best" award in the first edition of Architecture Photography MasterPrize
“Glitz and Grit”, by Gonçalo Lobo Pinheiro
For the first time in its six years of existence, the renowned Architecture MasterPrize (AMP) presented an Architecture Photography Award - Architecture Photography MasterPrize (APMP). Portuguese photojournalist Gonçalo Lobo Pinheiro won the "Best of Best" award.
In its first edition, the contest received hundreds of images from all over the world. Based in Macau for 11 years, the Portuguese author received the "Best of Best" award in the Cityscape subcategory, in the Outdoor Photography category, in the Professional segment, with his photography "Glitz and Grit", captured in 2018. An image that shows the magnificence of the Grand Lisboa hotel casino, in Macau, standing out among the buildings located in the city center, more precisely on Rua Nova à Guia.
"After a rigorous judging process, the entry of Gonçalo Lobo Pinheiro was chosen as the winner by the jury of professionals in the sector. We congratulate you on this great achievement and celebrate your success in receiving the prestigious AMP award, one of the largest awards programs in architecture of the world. The APMP aims to celebrate the very best in architectural photography around the world. The award recognizes exceptional images of exteriors, interiors and other forms of architectural photography," wrote the organization in an email sent to the author .
The photograph was taken in 2018 for a report on inequality in Macau that was published by The Guardian newspaper. Later, all over the world, it participated in several collective exhibitions and was published in a book. Likewise, it won the Latin American Fotografía 8 and the Umbra International Photography. He was a finalist and editor's choice for the National Geographic Travel Photo Contest in 2019, as well as winning Silver at the One Eyeland Photography Awards and second place at the Chromatic Photography Awards. It took third place at the Fine Art Photography Awards and received three Honorable Mentions in as many competitions. He was editor's pick for The Independent Photographer and Life Frame, both in 2019.
"I have been very happy with this image. I just have to be happy and very grateful for this distinction. It is a privilege, as a Portuguese, to win an award with a photograph of Macau, where I have lived since 2010. I ended up, in a way, representing the two territories in this award's first edition", says Gonçalo Lobo Pinheiro.
"The path is made on foot. I ended up participating with a photograph that is not unprecedented, but that illustrates, in my view, what Macao's urban landscape is all about, this mixture of old and new, between opulence and the frugal, if we can put it that way," adds the photojournalist.
The Architecture MasterPrize was created in 2015 by the Farmani Group as an initiative of the IDA - International Design Awards, which recognizes and celebrates smart and sustainable multidisciplinary design since 2007.