There’s something incredibly alluring about a handsome building photographed at night, something that makes it memorable and alive and which encourages people to visit. However, since daytime architectural photography is the “norm,” buildings that become most striking at night-time are perhaps less likely to win the recognition they deserve. So, we decided to uncover architecture’s sleeper hits: the buildings around the world that people are most likely to photograph at night.
Buildworld analyzed the metadata on over 10 million photos on Flickr to identify the famous buildings with the highest percentage of pictures tagged “night.” They ranked 6,000 of the world’s most iconic buildings using the number of tagged photos per 1,000 photos of that building on the site. The findings are organized globally and within North America, Europe, the UK, and Asia, respectively.
More info: buildworld.co.uk
Markthal, Netherlands
The Markthal in Rotterdam may not be the most photographed building in the world, but proportionally speaking, it is the most photographed at night by a significant stretch. Some 37% of the photos of this Dutch “market hall” are taken after dark. The market takes place under a huge, elongated arch, with shops, restaurants, and apartments rising around the upturned U. This means that a number of the windows remain illuminated until late.
But the real night-time star here is the interior arch. It is decorated with an illuminated mural across 11,000 square meters of aluminum “with a resolution comparable to a glossy magazine.”
Eiffel Tower, France
Mole Antonelliana, Italy
Mole Antonelliana in Turin has led a multifaceted life. Designed as a synagogue, the structure was transferred to city ownership before construction was completed and became a monument and museum to the unification of Italy. Today, it is home to the National Museum of Cinema, and the cine-like projected lights on its dome make it a real attraction for late-night photographers. The building’s intricate brickwork, Alpine backdrop and panoramic views further boost Mole Antonelliana’s status as a must-see for photographers visiting the city.
Christiansborg Palace, Denmark
Copenhagen Opera House, Denmark
Empire State Building, United States
The Empire State Building in New York City is the North American building we most love to photograph at night and by a considerable margin. While the tower’s Art Deco outline can’t help but recall the imagery of Batman – which demands a night-time aesthetic – it is a more upbeat detail that attracts photographers: the tower lights. Since 1976, the color of the lights has changed nightly to mark special dates and occasions, and in 2012 the lights were upgraded to “a state-of-the-art LED lighting system, capable of displaying more than 16 million colors.”
National Museum of Singapore, Singapore
Nearly every top Asian building for night photography was built in this century or the last. The exception, among the top ten, is the National Museum of Singapore. The museum moved to its present premises, a “neo-classical building with a new modernist extension of glass and metal,” in 1887. The museum is a regular star of both the Light to Night Festival and Singapore Night Festival, with animated light shows dancing across the complex’s various anachronistic surfaces. More than a quarter of the photos taken here are captured at night.
Tokyo Tower, Japan
Shanghai World Financial Center, China
Bank of China Tower, China
