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CIOB’s third annual digital picture competition will raise funds for community regeneration

CIOB’s third annual digital picture competition will raise funds for community regeneration

International Art of Building Photography Contest To Support Haiti School Project
Chartered Institute of Building’s third annual digital picture competition will raise funds for Article 25 community building regeneration initiative

The Chartered Institute of Building has today announced that its annual Art of Building international digital photography competition is now open for entry. The contest, which celebrates creativity in the construction industry, will also raise much-needed funds for a major project to build hurricane and earthquake resilient schools in Haiti, organised by development and disaster relief organisation, Article 25.

Each year, thousands of entrants from around the world are inspired to explore and capture the art of building in an imaginative and thought-provoking way and submit the resulting photograph to the Art of Building competition website. This year, the overall winner will scoop a cash prize of £2,000. The winning entry will be chosen by public vote from amongst 12 finalists, whose photographs will be auctioned to raise funds for the Haiti initiative.

In January 2010, Haiti was hit with a 7.0 magnitude earthquake, killing over 220,000 people, injuring a further 300,000 and destroying 1.5 million homes. Later that same year, New Zealand was rocked by a much larger earthquake and suffered just two fatalities. What was the difference? The answer lies in the standard of construction. As Robin Cross, chief executive at Article 25 explains: “Earthquakes don’t kill people… buildings do.”

CIOB Art of Building manager, Saul Townsend, added: “The Article 25 initiative aims to return Haitian children to safe schools and set a blueprint for future school buildings throughout the country. By taking part in the competition, this year’s entrants could find their photography and vision being used to touch someone else’s life.”

In 2011, ‘The Last Tower’ by Hungarian photographer and blogger Zoltan Balogh was voted by the public as the competition’s overall winner. Balogh captured the eerie image of a lonely boat loader on a cold and silent morning at the bend of the River Danube, in Esztergom, Hungary. “The contest has helped to showcase my work, especially in Hungary where people really got behind the entry,” he says.

“The prize money partly funded a celebratory party in my favourite Budapest pub – everyone that supported me on Facebook was invited. The rest of the money has contributed to helping me continue with other photography projects in the current tough economy.”

The 2012 Art of Building competition is open to anyone over the age of 18, whether professional or amateur. Entrants are encouraged to capture the built environment in a way not seen before, to inspire others and to challenge people’s perceptions. “Most importantly,” adds Townsend, “the CIOB wants people to have fun and gain a new perspective on the world and infrastructure around them.”

Entries to the competition will be split into four categories: Building Inspiration, Between People and Buildings, Creative Visions and Young Photographer of the Year.

Facts
· The competition is open to anyone over the age of 18 and is free to enter

· A panel of industry judges will be responsible for shortlisting 12 finalists, all of whom will receive international recognition in industry and national media

· The overall winner, to be decided by public vote, will also scoop a cash prize of £2,000 and crowned ‘Art of Building Photographer of the Year.’

· Up to three photographs per person may be entered into the competition across the categories

· Entries may be digitally enhanced or altered but must be submitted via the website in a JPEG format between 2mb and 8mb per photo. Entries will not be accepted outside of the advertised closing date or if they are embedded with borders or locks

· The competition will remain open for entry until 25 July 2012

· For more details about the competition and to enter, log on to www.artofbuilding.org. The competition can also be found on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Art_of_Building or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/theCIOB

ENDS


NOTES TO EDITORS
The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) represents for the public benefit the most diverse set of professionals in the construction industry.

Our Mission
To contribute to the creation of a modern, progressive, and responsible construction industry; able to meet the economic, environmental and social challenges faced in the 21st century.

Our 7 Guiding Principles
· Creating extraordinary people through professional learning and continuous personal development.
· Promoting the built environment as central to the quality of life for everyone everywhere.
· Achieving a sustainable future, worldwide.
· Advocating exemplary ethical practice and behaviour, integrity and transparency.
· Pursuing excellence in management practice, and technological innovation rooted in evidence based science.
· Being socially responsible and working responsibly.
· Enabling our members to find an emotional resonance with the Institute; their success is our success.

We have over 47,000 members around the world and are considered to be the international voice of the building professional, representing an unequalled body of knowledge concerning the management of the total building process.

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Saul Townsend MCIPR
Media and Communications Manager
The Chartered Institute of Building
t: +44 (0) 1344 630 766 f: +44 (0) 1344 630 770
e: stownsend@ciob.org.uk Twitter: CIOBsaul
w: www.ciob.org www.artofbuilding.org
Linkedin: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/saultownsend