Urban Verticality Photo Competition - winner announced

'With a constrained geography and a lack of space, Hong Kong has long been the archetypal vertical city. In the northern section of Kowloon, away from the main tourist sights and across the bay from Hong Kong Island, the comparatively low-rise though densely populated district of Sham Shui Po contrasts with the newer high-rises that have sprung up around it, as across the rest of the city.' The judges commented: 'This photograph represents the essence of Urban Verticality and its evolution through the years, what was once deemed as “vertical” and “urban” might now be considered insignificant. Whilst it is a well-known, almost cliched, vertical landscape, it is still an extraordinary one. The image manages to crop out any hint of sky and contains an impressive variety of different heights/styles of high-rise. The photo is sharply captured with the individual lights also offering a sense of the differentiated interior life across this scene. The composition and quality of the photo is exemplary and it is a deserving winner.'

'Yellow light means slow down the car and count the number of stories. This photo was taken in August 2018 on 179th and Audobon Avenue in Manhattan. Known as "The Bridge Apartments", residents of this tower live directly atop the Trans-Manhattan Expressway (I-95), above an unrelenting flow of cars and trucks driving from the Bronx to New Jersey and back. Living in the "The Bridge Apartments" gives residents an armchair understanding of these traffic dynamics. Albeit noisy, the 1960's-era complex remains entirely rent-stabilised and accommodating to a diverse range of incomes.' The judges commented: 'The photo disables the viewer from establishing the full magnitude of the building, yet the visible floors and the dimensions of the windows provide a sense of the enormity of the structure. The traffic light on amber opens the question of how adequate a building of this nature is, but leaves it for the viewer to decide. The contrast of colour serves to emphasise both the message and the image.'

'Whilst sat outside a Sudanese cafe in Templehof, Berlin, I witnessed a multi-storey conversation between the residents living above. Different characters would continually emerge, join, and then leave the exchange, all set against the seemingly disinterested satellite dishes and the clatter of cups and saucers below. The medium density of the city makes encounters like this common due to the distances between neighbours never being too large. And therefore even as a visitor you can often find yourself caught in the middle of the subtle encounters of a community.' The judges commented: 'Only a small minority of the submissions we recieved showed or implied any kind of social activity as part of the Urban Verticality theme. We really like the more ordinary qualities of the vertical scene here and the social interactions between above and below, all counterbalanced by the presence of the satellite dishes pointing as if dismissively away and hinting at more international realms of vertical connection.'

'Towards verticality in Jabal Al Taj, Amman, Jordan.' The judges commented: 'A beautiful use of contrast and colour representing an infinite urban environment that fades into the horizon. The vertical structures densely packed provide a sense of congestion, but the slope linked to the geography gives a nice scape towards the vertical. As opposed to most urban pictures, when tall building provide a sense of vertical constraint, in this one the verticality lifts the onlooker out of the jungle..'

'Power to the city' - the view from the top of the Rundetaarn in Copenhagen, overlooking Amager Bakke, the city's renewable power station' The judges commented: 'This is one of the few images submitted which associates verticality with the power of infrastructure as opposed to the typical powerful voyeur idea.'

'Taken from the top of the International Commerce Centre, Hong Kong’s tallest building, this photo illustrates an oft overlooked aspect of verticality: building maintenance. Although not featured in this photo, the gondola, dangling 118 storeys above ground, is lowered downwards from the Building Maintenance Unit that sits on top of the roof, and accommodates two individuals who are responsible for cleaning the windows. Given the desire to build taller, how may we appreciate these mundane practices: at what height is this likely to become too dangerous, and therefore, how may maintenance practices/technology need to change with continued vertical expansion?' The judges commented: 'This image thinks about verticality as a facet of the city that comes with unique human practices, linking to Richard Baxter’s ideas of ‘verticality as practice'

'Weichsel Beef has been in operation in New York’s Meatpacking district since the 1950s and today its premises are overshadowed by the twin cultural icons of the new Whitney Museum of American Art and the Highline. Such cultural venues are often located in former industrial districts and increasingly offer aerial views from viewing decks. In this case, the vertical perspective the Whitney provides us, frames the still operational meat businesses for which the district was named and reminds us that such areas are not always as ‘post-industrial’ as we may have been led to believe.' The judges commented: 'An explicit view from above helpfully emphasised with the bar across the top looking down on an enigmatic scene below with the repairman, odd yellow circle, meat sign and functional landscape of ventilation/air conditioning units stretching out flatly yet vertically.'