On April 16, the Sony World Photography Awards announced the winners of its 18th edition at a ceremony in London, in the United Kingdom.
The top prize in the architecture and design category went to Hong Kong-based Canadian photographer Ulana Switucha, who won with her series “The Tokyo Toilet Project”.
Commissioned by the Shibuya municipal government and the Nippon Foundation, they were created by 16 architects and designers, including Tadao Ando and Kengo Kuma.
“I think the actual subject matter [is] the beauty and the art. It was a really good story to pull together in a series, and I was very privileged and honoured to have won the award with that set,” she says.
“I went to all of these toilets. Each has a story behind it. There’s one that’s totally transparent and, when you lock the door, it becomes opaque; there’s another one that looks like an igloo, with voice-activated controls inside.”