Photos of the Year

Photos in the running for the awards were situated in one of four categories: Exterior, Interior, Buildings in Use, and Sense of Place. The twenty finalists, revealed in October, were on display at WAF, where people were able to vote on one favorite and one runner-up in each category.

The Overall winner, which also won in the Interior category, is Terrence Zhang's photo of Swimming Pool, New Campus of Tianjin University, China by Atelier Li Xinggang. The photo, above, captures the sunshine streaming into the space through elliptical openings beneath a scalloped concrete roof. With the win Zhang receives $3,000 and will be exhibited, with all of the finalists, at Image+Space in Beijing from 11th November 2017 and at Sto Werkstatt, the cultural headquarters of the Sto Group in London from 9th February 2018.

Zhang also won in the Building in Use category for another photo of Li Xinggang's Tianjin University project, this time for the gymasium, below. The photographer used a similar symmetrical composition to capture the concrete structure and distinctive apertures, while also foregrounding a volleyball match in the foreground.

The other winners, at bottom, are Adam Letch’s photo of a chapel built on Bosjes farm in Ceres, Cape Town by Steyn Studio (Exterior), and Tom Roe's photo of the Messner Mountain Museum Corones, Bolzano, South Tyrol in Italy by Zaha Hadid Architects (Sense of Place).

Full disclosure: I served as a judge in determining the shortlist for the Architectural Photography Awards 2017. Seeing the winners selected by WAF participants, I have to admit in being pleased with the outcome as well as with the quality of the photographs submitted and shortlisted.