Inside the Tower in Tuscany, Italy by photographer Fabio Sartori
APA 2022 Interiors Shortlist: Inside the Tower, Geothermal Power Plant, in Monterotondo Marittimo, Tuscany, Italy by photographer Fabio Sartori

Writing and Photo Editing by Ari Adams

Now in its tenth year, the Architectural Photography Awards committee released its 2022 shortlist of photographs on October 31st. Highlighting four photographs in each of six categories, the images overwhelmingly emphasize the ultra-modernized world that we live in and are headed further towards. Consisting of a total of six categories, the first five categories—Exteriors, Interiors, Sense of Place, Buildings in Use, and Mobile—focus on bridges as an overarching theme as interpreted by the photographers. Meanwhile, the Portfolio category focuses on transportation hubs, featuring images that focus heavily on modernist airports and train stations in Turkey and China. All of the shortlisted images will be exhibited in Lisbon, Portugal at the World Architecture Festival from November 30th - December 2nd, after which the winners of this year’s awards will be announced.

Guiyuan Temple in Modern City in Wuhan, China by photographer Jerry Yu
APA 2022 Sense of Place Shortlist: Guiyuan Temple in Modern City in Wuhan, China by photographer Jerry Yu

While the images chosen for this year’s shortlist are varied and were captured in countries across the globe, the photographs convey a staggering sense of ultra-modernity. This is exemplified in photographer Jerry Yu’s image, Guiyuan Temple in Modern City, which the photographer captured in Wuhan, China and has been shortlisted in the Sense of Place category. The image, which features a traditional Buddhist temple built in 1658 during the rule of the Qing Dynasty, was seemingly shot with a telephoto lens that condenses the new high rise buildings behind the building in a manner that makes them feel as though they are consuming the traditional architecture of the region. The overwhelmingly red Yingwuzhou Yangtze River Bridge, which was completed in 2014, lies in the background and leads towards the massive highrise buildings, reminding viewers of the impressive amount of modernizing infrastructure the Chinese Communist Party has undertaken in the last two decades.

High Density City in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong by photographer William Shum
APA 2022 Mobile Category ‘Bridges’ Shortlist: High Density City in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong by photographer William Shum

Photographer William Shum’s image, High Density City, which they shot in Quarry Bay, Hong Kong and was shortlisted in the Mobile category, evokes similar feelings of individuals being engulfed by the ultra-modern city around them. Focusing on a skyway-style bridge in the foreground, the majority of the image is dominated by the windows and air-conditioning units of an extremely dense housing unit, foreshadowing what urban life may look like in the years to come in an exponentially urbanized and populated world.

Vernacular Animal Sheds in Lissewege, Belgium by photographer Servaas Van Belle
APA 2022 Sense of Place Shortlist: Vernacular Animal Sheds in Lissewege, Belgium by photographer Servaas Van Belle

Servaas Van Belle’s image, Vernacular Animal Sheds, strays from the pack and features a building that has clearly seen heavy use in an agricultural setting over the course of generations. The building, which was captured by Belle in Belgium, is overgrown with greenery and ivies and is consumed by fog and bordered by dying trees, implying a way of life that is on its way out of existence.

Istanbul Airport in Turkey by photographer Simon Kennedy
APA 2022 Portfolio Category ‘Transport Hubs’ Shortlist: Istanbul Airport in Turkey by photographer Simon Kennedy

Photographers Simon Kennedy and Kangyu Hu produced highly memorable portfolios of the Istanbul and Shenzhen Bao’an Airports, respectively. The images highlight recent changes in the Turkish and Chinese economies and infrastructures through the use of beautiful imagery. Despite the controversies surrounding Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s investments in construction and infrastructure building, the images that Kennedy captured of the Istanbul Airport, show the major advances the country has made since their entry into the European Union and becoming an economic powerhouse in South-East Europe and Western Asia. Likewise, Hu’s images of the Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport highlight major changes in the Chinese economy, especially in an image which features a Prada store in the middle of the highly modernist airport their portfolio focuses on.

Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport in China by photographer Kangyu Hu
APA 2022 Portfolio Category ‘Transport Hubs’ Shortlist: Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport in China by photographer Kangyu Hu

With the winning photographers being announced in just a matter of days, the shortlisted images are highly diverse and feature buildings from across the world. Despite the modernist and urbanized theme that dominates the shortlisted images, architectural styles spanning millennia of tradition and culture are represented throughout. You can learn more about the Architectural Photography Awards here.