Sony World Photography Awards showcase beautiful structure

Architecture is a little bit of an underrated photograph competitors class however it’s one that may concurrently seize design, engineering and human expertise. Here, we decide our 2026 Sony World Photography Awards’ Professional finalist and shortlist standouts that handle to say a lot with a single picture.

By framing buildings in new methods, beneath completely different gentle, the pictures reveal how the constructed setting generally is a highly effective topic of inventive expression – and make viewers additionally see the world in a different way. A fantastic instance of that’s the main picture we have used, by Iranian photographer Farshid Rahimi Kalahroudi. His Shortlist photograph, “Great Jameh Mosque,” manages to seize engineering ingenuity, historical past and tradition – like all our standout photos.

Second-Hand House

Stephan Zirwes/Sony World Photography Awards 2026

Stephan Zirwes (Germany) made the awards’ Shortlist class for this stark picture of how outdated supplies develop into a sustainable technique to construct small vacation properties for individuals, the place “wood, bricks and window frames from demolished buildings are given a new lease of life, reducing construction waste and the need for new resources. Such reuse not only creates a unique, charming building, but also contributes to environmental protection.”

“Untitled” from the sequence Ad Astra

Cristopher Rogel Blanquet Chavez/Sony World Photography Awards 2026

Shortlist photographer Cristopher Rogel Blanquet Chavez (Mexico) took this relatively stunning picture of the border wall between the US and Mexico in Douglas, Arizona. By day, the wall looms massive, however at night time, it takes on a totally completely different kind.

“It becomes a silhouette, a shadow, a dark line of architectural hostility that cuts through the landscape and the silence,” mentioned Chavez. “This series is not about politics, but about presence. It is about an architecture designed to exclude.”

Chinese Watchtowers

Chen Liang/Sony World Photography Awards 2026

Chen Liang (China) has been named a finalist for this fascinating picture of a Yuqing watchtower in-built Jiangmen, in China’s Guangdong Province, in 1922.

“They were built during the time of the Republic of China (1912-1949), as public refuges and defensive fortresses,” the outline defined. “Most were constructed by Chinese people living overseas, who had returned to their home towns, or raised funds to build them in the countryside, making them a unique architectural form that combines both Chinese and Western influences. In 2007, the Kaiping Diaolou and Villages in Guangdong were officially designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.”

Mercado Safira

André Tezza/Sony World Photography Awards 2026

At first unassuming, this picture snapped by André Tezza (Brazil) captures the essence of small-town neighborhood and livelihood that always facilities round have been we get meals from. This neighborhood grocery retailer in Campo Largo is greater than only a store to the those who depend on it – and this picture portrays it nearly like the sunshine of the neighborhood. Which it probably is. Living in an age of comfort, and comfort shops, it is simple to overlook that these unassuming native spots are extra than simply locations to purchase meals – they’re hubs of small neighborhood dwelling, the place individuals change information, native gossip and might have a way of belonging.

“Often family-run and linked to domestic spaces, the stores merge work, memory and dwelling into a single building,” the photograph description famous. “While the city center undergoes gentrification, the periphery remains culturally dense and visually vibrant.”

You can test our gallery for extra of our picks from the class.

Source: Sony World Photography Awards