Moscow. Architecture of Time
Competition brief
Moscow. Architecture of Time (Москва. Архитектура времени) invites photographic interpretations of 19 specified architectural sites across Moscow, from metro stations and bridges to housing, hospitals and restored buildings. Each entry combines a series devoted to one site with a short essay. This is an architectural photography competition, not a building-design commission.
Organizer and eligibility
The regulations identify Information and Communication Center LLC (IKC) as the commissioning body, Strategic Development Agency CENTER as operator, and Moscow’s Urban Planning Policy and Construction Complex as partner. This separates the legal client from the public institution supporting the programme. CENTER publishes identifiable company details and a portfolio that includes the Staraya Ladoga tourism-area competition; that separate commission does not establish the terms or outcomes of this photography call. No verified previous edition of this particular competition is claimed here.
| Organizer | IKC LLC; operated by Strategic Development Agency CENTER, with Moscow Urban Planning and Construction Complex support. |
| Eligibility | Adults registered in the Russian Federation. The rules exclude persons designated as foreign agents under the cited Russian legislation. This is not an unrestricted international call. |
| Entry fee | No participation fee is stated in the reviewed regulations. Entrants arrange photography permissions and bear their own production costs. |
| Registration deadline | 14 November 2026, 21:00 UTC; registration on the competition platform is required to submit. |
| Submission deadline | 14 November 2026, 21:00 UTC, under clause 3.1.5. |
| Total prize fund | RUB 1,750,000 including applicable taxes, approximately USD 20,929. |
Deadline clarification: the public calendar says 15 November, but clause 3.1.5 closes entries at 00:00 that day in UTC+3. The countdown therefore uses 14 November at 21:00 UTC. Do not assume the whole of 15 November is available.
Submission requirements
| Subject | Choose one of the 19 listed sites. Unlimited entries are allowed, but the same image or series cannot be entered twice for the same site. |
| Photographs | 3–10 JPEG/JPG photographs; at least 6,000 × 4,000 pixels landscape or 4,000 × 6,000 portrait; at least 300 dpi; sRGB or Adobe RGB. No boards are requested. |
| Originality | Photographed on or after 1 January 2026; not previously published or commercially used. No watermarks, frames or author labels. AI-generated images and substantial photomontage, including sky replacement and added elements, are prohibited. |
| Required viewpoint | At least one image must show the whole object from an elevated viewpoint, in three-quarter view with front and side legible, without showing the roof or its services. Entrants should seek clarification on application to non-building subjects rather than assume an exemption. |
| Essay and language | Russian; up to 1,000 characters including spaces, explaining the photographic idea. |
| Application | Online official platform: personal and contact details, entrant portrait, selected site, essay, photographs and declarations covering authorship, terms, image use and personal-data processing. |
| Finalists | Provide the submitted photographs in RAW or TIFF at 300 dpi. |
| Changes and access | The platform warns that submitted applications cannot be edited; clause 3.1.6 allows changes by notice at least five working days before closure. Contact the operator for that procedure. Site-access permissions are the entrant’s responsibility. |
Prizes and timetable
| First prize | RUB 1,000,000, approximately USD 11,959. |
| Second prize | RUB 500,000, approximately USD 5,980. |
| Third prize | RUB 250,000, approximately USD 2,990. |
| Tax and payment | Amounts include applicable taxes. The client withholds personal income tax. The model prize agreement provides payment within five banking days after signing and receipt of required documents. |
| Selection | Expert selection: 23–30 November 2026; three images per site, 57 finalist images overall. Jury decision scheduled for 8 December; award ceremony 14 December. The rules allow timetable changes. |
| Currency note | USD estimates calculated on 18 October 2026 using Bank of Russia’s 17 October rate of RUB 83.6177 per USD; rounded indications, not dollar-payment commitments. |
Invited jury and assessment
| Artyom Dedkov — chair | Deputy head of Moscow’s Urban Planning Policy Department; public-policy perspective. |
| Maria Derunova | Senior coordination official in Moscow’s urban planning and construction complex. |
| Anna Martovitskaya; Ilya Mukosey | Architectural critic; architect and ARCH Moscow creative director, respectively. |
| Alexey Naroditsky | Architectural photographer and member of the Russian artists’ union. |
| Elena Petukhova | Special-projects manager at the Union of Moscow Architects. |
| Nikita Tokarev; Ekaterina Shalina | MARSH dean and architect; art critic and ArchiGraphica curator, respectively. |
| Panel status | The website calls these invitees. CENTER’s announcement additionally lists photo editor Natalia Udartseva, absent from the current website roster; final membership should be checked. |
| Criteria | Technical skill; composition; idea and narrative; emotional expression; concept and context. Each is scored 1–10, giving a maximum of 50 per evaluator. Individual jury scores are not published. |
Rights and conditions
All entrants grant the client and operator a non-exclusive worldwide licence lasting for the author’s life plus 70 years. It covers competition use and other non-profit uses, without further consent or payment, with author attribution. This is a substantial licence, not merely permission to display the winning photograph.
Entrants remain responsible for authorship, third-party rights, permissions and their declarations. The regulations also permit rejection of material that discredits the programme’s subjects, which limits the scope for critical documentary work. No separate production reimbursement, paid future assignment or cancellation-compensation promise was identified. With no stated entry payment, no registration-refund mechanism is specified.
✦ ArchUp Competition Review
The committee considers this a relevant opportunity for photographers able to work locally: its named sites and technical requirements encourage attention to scale, light, volume and the relationship between an object and its surroundings. The invited panel combines photography, architectural criticism and public administration.
The programme also serves a public presentation of Moscow’s redevelopment. Its representational restrictions, unpublished individual scores and broad unpaid licence should be weighed alongside the cash prizes. A traceable operator supports informed assessment, but neither previous cooperation with a publication nor the presence of institutional logos guarantees an individual entrant’s outcome.
Related competitions — Editorial team selection
For archival perspectives on art and place, explore the Eulsukdo ecological-art open call and Art Gallery competition. These thematic references do not confirm that entry remains open.
Time remaining for submission
Registration and submission close 14 November 2026, 21:00 UTC. The rules specify the beginning, not the end, of 15 November in UTC+3.
Official brief and application
Consult the organiser’s brief and entry terms before registration.
