Holding Out for a Hero Shot

Hero Shot 2 further explores the ways in which architecture and interiors can be captured, a strong interest for Rutt: “this was a natural marriage of two interests for me, photography and architecture,” he says.

When asked what his motivation was to share these images as part of FAD 2017, Rutt explains that the “exhibition was so popular with the general public last time” that it was “kept up well after the exhibition finished” and aligns with the ethos of the festival.

Peter Barnes, Woods Bagot, SAHMRI

This year’s exhibition predominantly features work from local architects, but includes projects from interstate and overseas. “I see things like FAD as being another part of making architecture a little more accessible, which can sometimes seem a little bit academic or removed, as most people haven’t worked with an architect before,” Rutt says.

Sam Noonan, Architectsink, Plane Tree House

Architectural photography is a critically important art form, due to it not only being a record of a building once it is complete, but, in some cases, is the only way in which the general public will experience these spaces. As the first opportunity to engage with built projects, photographs are an incredibly significant aspect of communicating a building’s atmosphere, what it feels like to be inside them, and how the materiality, light and shape perform both internally and externally.

Sam Noonan, John Wardle + Swanbury Penglase, M2 Building

“A successful hero shot is one that carries the essence of a building in a single frame,” Rutt says. “It could be a building detail, or even something to do with the materiality.”

The exhibition also features work from students, an aspect supporting  the ‘Future Cities’ theme of Open State (which FAD was a part of this year). “We are looking to get some renders of insertions into existing façades which will allow people to see what a project will look like in a photo-realistic sense before it’s even complete,” Rutt says.

David Sievers, Thompson Rossi, Brighton Secondary School

The 20-odd projects in the exhibition are high profile, and demonstrate what Rutt believes to be the top-end of architectural photography from some of the best known creatives in the industry.

“Architects are usually thinking in three dimensions, what this event does is ask to go back the other way and look at these objects in a two-dimensional frame, in a plane of tone, light and colour.”

Hero Shot 2
SA Water, Victoria Square
From Thursday, October 5 until Friday, October 27

Header image: Steve Rendoulis, Allman Sattler Wappner + Walter Brooke, Audi Solitaire Showroom