URBAN 2023: Martin Wacker wins the “Icons of Architecture” special prize

German photographer Martin Wacker, with his shot Bierpinsel, is the winner of the “Icons of Architecture” 2023 special prize, promoted for the fourth year in a row by URBAN Photo Awards in partnership with the the digital magazine of architecture and design Matrix4Design. The award is an evolution of the previous “New Buildings” prize, and its dedicated to the iconic architectural constructions who have changed the face of contemporary cities.

The winning photo portrays the Steglitz Tower Restaurant, also known as Bierpinsel. “Built between 1972 and 1976 by the architects Ralf Schüler and Ursulina Schüler-Witte in Berlin as part of a larger urban project, the Bierpinsel (literally: “beer brush”) is a 47-meter-high tower building that refers to the pop-art architecture strand. It consists of an exposed reinforced concrete structure which enlarges at the top to contain a space of three floors formerly used as a restaurant. It breaks away from the surrounding historical buildings due to its shape and to the red-orange colour with which it was originally painted. Currently unused but placed under monumental protection, it was repainted in dark colours by a group of street artists in 2010.” (source: Matrix4Design article)

Here are the words by Matrix4Design founder Andrea Boni in describing the winning photo: “We chose to reward the shot that disoriented us more than the others, testing our ability to identify and understand perspectives, orientations and angles of light. The author has radically reinterpreted the point of view of the building, “turning off” the colors that identify it today and bringing it back to its original shades of light and dark.”

Martin Wacker will be awarded together with the other winners of the URBAN Photo Awards on Saturday 28 October 2023 during the Trieste Photo Days festival Award Ceremony. (here is the festival full program).

In the meantime, the group exhibition of the 10 finalists can be visited until  October 24 2023 at the CRISTINA Brera Showroom in Via Pontaccio 8/10 11 in Milan. On display photos by: Claudia Alberti, David Boam, Dorota Yamadag, Ingrid Gielen, Maria Cristina Pasotti, Maria Grazia Castiglione, Martin Wacker, Simone Cioci, Vincent Belin, Wael ElHammamy. 

The inauguration of the photographic exhibition took place  October 10, during an evening dedicated to the meeting between photography and architecture. The event can be relived on Matrix4Design youtube channel.