The architecture and design blog

National Aquatics Center, Beijing, photographer Tim Griffith

Staring through my view finder at crumbling portico in the ruined Roman city of Palmyra, stone glowing in the late evening sun, I thought I could see the essence of the Roman Empire in all its dilapidated glory. It was mine if I just pressed the button! I did of course, but captured not the glory of an empire lost, rather an inglorious tourist snap of a ruined portico.

Architectural photography is a particular art form that few understand or even properly acknowledge. It is pleasing to see that is changing.

ARCAID Images in conjunction with The Architectural Review, are holding the Architectural Photography Awards 2012. The awards will include the World Architectural Photographer of the Year and will be held at the World Architectural Festival 3-5 October in Singapore.

There is still time to enter before it closes on the 7^th September 2012. Read more

Photos: Richard Davies

Cinema as a form of entertainment has been battered by successive waves of technological innovation, from TV to home video players to online streaming and the iPad. Despite all this, cinema refuses to die and, in some quarters at least, appears to be reviving and evolving. The Hackney Picturehouse has recently been converted from a run-down music venue by Fletcher Priest Architects. Read more

Photo: Hiroshi Ueda

A dental clinic in Fukuyama City by UID Architects is an essay in materiality, light and views. Users of the building appear led through from one intriguing space to the next by tempting glimpses of what lies beyond, like a glutton might follow the aroma of freshly baked bread. Read more