Pawel Paniczko’s snap of Long Museum West Bund in Shanghai has become the overall winner of this year’s Architectural photography awards
If you wish to see the most photogenic man-made structure on Earth, head to Shanghai. According to a jury of professionals that assembled at the World Architecture Awards, a picture of the city‘s Long Museum West Bund is the very best 2018 has brought us.
During the contest that took place at Amsterdam‘s World Architecture Festival between 28 and 30 November, the jury selected the overall winner and other successful participants in six categories, including the new categories of portfolio and mobile that were introduced this year.
Manchester-based photographer Pawel Paniczko has become the star of the ceremony. Not only did he win the portfolio category with his picture of Harbin Opera House in China, but he also managed to win the overall prize.
His picture of Long Museum West Bund, with which he had entered the contest in the exterior category, has brought him $3,000 in prize winnings. He also received $1,000 for the winning portfolio entry.
“I love to photograph buildings that create emotions and both Long Museum West Bund and Harbin Opera House were these kinds of structures,” Paniczko said.
“Spending a time in and around these buildings, watching how people interact with them and how the light changes in the course of a day, was truly inspirational. That helped me to catch the essence of the buildings presented in my images.”
The new mobile category had two winners this year, each receiving $250. He Zhenhuan from China, with his photo of an overpass in Chongqing, China, which was shot on an Apple iPhone SE, was chosen by the panel of judges, and John Pinder, from Carshalton, UK, won the public vote with Half Spiral, an abstract photo of a spiral staircase, which was shot on a Samsung Galaxy S8.
The competition was held in two rounds. From the initial number of more than 1,200 entries in four categories — exterior, interior, sense of place, and building — more than 130 judges shortlisted 20 best photographs that are available in our previous post.
