Image description
Bathed in soft evening light, a lighthouse rises into the clear sky, its clean, sleek, geometric design contrasting with the coastal landscape. Positioned at its base is a figure – a contemplative man gazing out at the expanse of the ocean before him. The juxtaposition of the solitary silhouette against the infinite horizon creates a moment of reflection and connection with the vastness of the ocean.
Shortlist
Huanzhen Yang
Madrid
Overlooking Madrid from sky. The Plaza Mayor in Madrid is like rules in the midst of chaos.
© Huanzhen Yang, China Mainland, entry, Open Competition, Travel, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Sheng Wang
Zhencheng Building
In the streets and alleys of Quanzhou, the hometown of Overseas Chinese in Southern Fujian province, there is a western-style building that combines traditional red brick and white walls with the characteristics of Nanyang architecture. With the help of the local government, this building has been protected from the surrounding development and will be relocated as a whole.
© Sheng Wang, China Mainland, Shortlist, Open Competition, Architecture, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Eng Tong Tan
Hemispheric
The Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (City of Arts and Sciences) in Valencia, Spain.
© Eng Tong Tan, Malaysia, Shortlist, Open Competition, Architecture, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Marcelo Cugliari
Untitled
Hermitage of Our Lady of Carmen Obra Don Orione in the province of Mendoza, Argentina.
© Marcelo Cugliari, Argentina, Shortlist, Open Competition, Architecture, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Hadriel Torres
New Pharaoh
Dubai’s architecture is one of its stand-out features and has helped make the emirate internationally recognisable. This photograph showcases a striking pyramid-shaped building set against a serene pink backdrop, symbolising modern architectural innovation in a world of boundless creativity.
© Hadriel Torres, Italy, Shortlist, Open Competition, Architecture, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Mark Benham
CopenHill
CopenHill, also known as Amager Bakke, is a new breed of waste-to-energy plant, which is topped with a ski slope. It embodies the notion of hedonistic sustainability while aligning with Copenhagen’s goal of becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral city by 2025.
© Mark Benham, United Kingdom, Shortlist, Open Competition, Architecture, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Anna Rossetti
Unfinished
Many of Cairo’s buildings are unfinished, because their owners have to pay higher taxes when they are complete. This makes me think of Penelope’s weaving in Homer’s Odyssey, constantly in progress, and this is not the only point of contact between the city and Greece: Cairo owes its name to Kairòs, a Greek word meaning ‘at the right time’.
© Anna Rossetti, Italy, Shortlist, Open Competition, Architecture, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Markus Naarttijärvi
Industrial Funghi
The recently constructed expansion of the SCA Obbola paper mill outside Umeå, Sweden. This building houses one of the largest paper machines in the world.
© Markus Naarttijärvi, Sweden, Shortlist, Open Competition, Architecture, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Lim Chien Ting
Traffic Circle
The design of the Pearl Ring Roundabout in Beijing, China, harmonises seamlessly with the detailed patterns of its surroundings.
© Lim Chien Ting, Malaysia, Shortlist, Open Competition, Architecture, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Sophia Li
Mount Fanjing
Temples sit on top of the New Golden Summit, a lonely spire in the Wulung Mountains in Guizhou province, southeast China.
© Sophia Li, United States, Shortlist, Open Competition, Architecture, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Siu Hang Andrew Tsang
Building Blocks
When the previous night’s weather forecast pointed to a foggy morning, I woke hours before sunrise to travel to Tai Mo Shan, the highest point in Hong Kong. The sprawling metropolis was covered in a layer of fog below me, creating surreal silhouettes of the skyscrapers, which looked like toys.
© Siu Hang Andrew Tsang, Hong Kong, Shortlist, Open Competition, Architecture, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Xiangsheng Zhang
Grow Upwards
If the green screen is like a large meadow then the distant urban buildings are like trees, growing constantly upwards.
© Xiangsheng Zhang, China Mainland, Shortlist, Open Competition, Architecture, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Yang Shu
Red Buddha Kingdom
The Seda Wuming Buddhist Academy consists of thousands of red Tibetan-style bungalows that stretch for several kilometres and surround several magnificent temples to form a spectacular small mountain city. The vast scale often leaves first-time visitors stunned and it is difficult to truly capture its visual impact in a photograph.
© Yang Shu, China Mainland, Shortlist, Open Competition, Architecture, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards
Chau Lun Shum
Blue Sky, Yellow Water, Raw Concrete
Afternoon sunlight in the Awaji Yumebutai complex in Awaji, Japan. I liked the way the column divided the staircase and the pond into different shapes.
© Chau Lun Shum, Hong Kong, Shortlist, Open Competition, Architecture, 2024 Sony World Photography Awards