The competition, titled ‘Concrete in Life’, gives a prize of US$10,000 (£7,400) to the overall winner, with each of the category winners receiving US$2,500.
Agung Lawerissa was named the overall winner for his photograph of children playing football on the shore in front of the iconic Merah Putih Bridge, which connects the Leihitu Peninsula and the Lei Timur Peninsula in Indonesia.
Lawerissa said: “I took my photo in the city of Ambon, Indonesia. I was interested in capturing this moment because there was a group of children playing soccer in the sand at low tide with Merah Putih bride in the background. The bridge was built to speed up the travel time between Patimura Airport on the Lei Hitu Peninsula, Central Maluku in the north and Ambon City Center on the East Lei Peninsula in the south. It is a great honour to win the Concrete in Life 2021 competition and tell the story of how concrete is bringing communities together in my country.”
Sara Goli from Tehran, Iran, won the 'Concrete Infrastructure Professional' category with the image below.
The ‘Urban Concrete Amateur’ category was won by Mario Pereda (below). It shows the Oscar Niemeyer International Cultural Centre, Avilés, Spain. “I captured this image to reflect how concrete is not just an essential part of our lives (it would be very difficult to build most of the necessary infrastructure in contemporary societies without it), but also, thanks to its versatility, it allows us to develop functional and aesthetically attractive environments in which to enrich our lives,” he said.
The ‘Urban Concrete Professional’ winner was Michael Sidharta (@mikesidharta), showing The Interlace in Singapore (below). “The Interlace is an apartment building complex located at the boundary between ‘Bukit Merah’ and ‘Queenstown’ in Singapore,” he said. I like this building because it’s very unique and also surrounded by urban forest. It captures the balance of nature, while showing extraordinary strength and resilience in life.”
‘Concrete in Daily Life Amateur’ was won by Amri Arfianto (@Amri_Arfianto) with an image of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, UAE (below). "The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is a modern model of Islamic architecture, which is unique in its creative and architectural design,” said Arfianto. “This is evident in its corridors and halls, which has made it a leading global cultural destination on the world tourism map. The SZGM attracts worshipers and tourists every year and is one of the most visited buildings in the world. My picture tells the story of how people can build a masterpiece in concrete and benefit people’s daily lives."
‘Concrete in Daily Life Professional’ was won by Niyazi Gürgen (@niyazi_gurgen) of Turkey (below). “I took this photo in one of the old villages of Anatolia, Turkey,” said Gürgen. “I wanted to document the difficult conditions women in this geography live under and how strong they are. It is difficult to fit daily life skills and abilities into a single frame, but I managed to capture it in an aesthetic way. Just as the woman balances the bread she carries on her back, she resists all the difficulties of life and struggles to keep her family in balance. These concrete stairs, which she climbs up and down many times, make it easier for her to do the hard work she has to do every day.”
‘Sustainable Concrete’ was won by Hakan Çöplü, @hakan_coplu with a picture of sea defences in Turkey (below). “I took this photo while visiting the fishing port in Istanbul,” said Çöplü. “I saw the concrete cubes made to protect the port from sea waves which helps the worker to work safely. It shows how concrete provides a sustainable environment.”
‘Sustainable Concrete Professional@ was won by Rahmad Himawan of Indonesia (below). “"Concrete is important in supporting human life,” said Himawan. “My photo shows a concrete road section in the middle of a rice field located in a small village in Kemumu village in Indonesia. The road makes it easy for farmers to get to work and carry out their crucial daily activities – enabling our sustainable communities to thrive. It is also used as a road for recreation, travel, and for appreciating the natural scenery around here.”
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