What if an edited photograph of a building doesn't just crop out visual clutter like street lights but alters the contours of the building itself? What should we think about an architectural award that was bestowed on the basis of such a doctored image?
These questions came to mind recently after the Chicago chapter of the American Institute of Architects announced the winners of its annual Design Excellence Awards. Five buildings won honor awards, the top level of recognition. One of them was El Centro, a striking, boomerang-shaped structure with blue and gold fins along the east side of the Kennedy Expressway. The building, designed by Chicago architect Juan Moreno, is a satellite of Northeastern Illinois University, whose main campus is 3 miles to the north.
...
One does not need to be a professional ethicist to recommend that the AIA and other design organizations sharpen their awards program standards to reflect the dangers of the digital age: Photographs that doctor the reality of a building or omit key perspectives of it will be considered outside the pale of ethical standards and will cause a project to be eliminated from consideration.
Yet the digital age also offers opportunities for ensuring the veracity of photographs.
If an architectural jury can't visit a building, its members should at least use a program like Google Earth to check it out. Virtual reality tours may someday present another "sniff test" opportunity. But in the end, there's no substitute for seeing architecture firsthand.
"If you are giving an award and you want it to be a prestigious recognized award, it does come with a responsibility, with due diligence of visiting buildings and doing research about them," said Martha Thorne, the Pritzker Prize's executive director. Digitally enhanced photography, she said, isn't always "a reflection of reality. It's using technology to interpret reality or enhance it."
In the wake of the El Centro issue, the Chicago AIA chapter seems to understand the need to update its standards to the digital age.