Concrete in Life Photo of the Year winner revealed

A stunning image of a skateboarder at Venice Beach, California, USA has been named Concrete in Life Photo of the Year 2024/25. It was selected from more than 20 000 entries to the annual global competition, run by the GCCA, which highlights the beauty and essential role that concrete plays around the world.

The image, which wins a top prize of US$10 000) was taken by Henrik Hagerup, at Venice Beach Skatepark, Los Angeles, USA. The park’s concrete bowls were inspired by LA’s abandoned swimming pool skating scene of the 1970s. Henrik’s photo was announced as this year’s winner along with 4 category winners and a people’s vote champion.

Thomas Guillot, GCCA Chief Executive who helped to judge this year’s competition said: “Many congratulations to Henrik Hagerup, whose photo is absolutely breathtaking, and to all of this year’s winners, which we think are the best we have seen over the last 6 years of the competition.

“Their stunning images highlight concrete’s positive impact on our lives right across the planet. Whether it’s the vital infrastructure such a bridges, railways and roads that we travel along or the homes, offices and schools we inhabit, concrete is a truly versatile material. Our competition gives anyone with a smartphone as well as professional photographers, the chance to show just how essential concrete is to our lives, as well as how beautiful it can be.”

Henrik Hagerup, whose overall winning photo captured a sublime moment at Venice Beach, USA said: “My image is a tribute to the way concrete, when embraced by creativity and passion, fosters connection, dreams, and boundless potential not just in skate parks, but in communities across the world. It’s a great honour to win the Concrete in Life 2024/25 competition.”

Entries were submitted from every continent and included images of skyscrapers and the modern urban world, as well as key infrastructure such as transport networks, including railways, bridges and roads, and other important structures such as sea defences and dams. The photos also show more intimate human interactions in villages and playgrounds, as well as exquisitely designed architecture and much more.

Diane Hoskins, Global Co-Chair of Gensler, one the world’s leading design and architecture companies, and competition judge said, "These winning images highlight the importance of concrete in the breadth of our lives – and they reinforce the importance of decarbonising concrete. Great design of our buildings and infrastructure is enabled by the important properties of concrete. We are thrilled to partner with GCCA to lean into the strength of concrete to create beauty and its role in lowering the carbon emissions in our world."

As well as the overall winner, four other category winners were also announced, each receiving a prize of $2500 USD. Anvar Sadath TA was named category winner in the Urban Concrete category, for his photo called ‘Urban Flow’ set in Dubai, UAE, which includes the iconic Burj Khalifa. A photo of a Washinton, D.C. subway station by Wentao Guo called ‘Structure as Aesthetics’ won the Concrete Infrastructure category. Wellington Kuswanto won the Concrete in Daily Life category for his picture of Bedok Jetty, Singapore. The Beauty and Design category was won by Artemio Layno for their photo ‘Broken Building’ set in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

The People’s Vote prize, chosen by the public with a $5000 USD prize, was won by Mohamed Rafi for his picture ‘Fluttering Through Life’ set in Pondicherry, India.

Chris George, Content Director at Digital Camera World, who also judged this year’s competition said “Concrete is all around us and has a beauty that might not always be obvious to some people. The Concrete in Life global photography competition continues to prove it is possible to take stunning shots of architecture and the manmade environment that show off the beauty of this universal building material.”

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