OVERALL WINNER: Pillars Across the Sea by Celbert Palaganas, Cebu City, Philippines
LONDON -- Powerful and striking images from around the world have been chosen as the winners of the Concrete in Life 2025/26 global photography competition, showcasing the essential role concrete plays in daily life, infrastructure, cities, and design.
Run by the Global Cement and Concrete Association (GCCA), the annual competition received more than 20,000 entries from professional and amateur photographers, as well as smartphone users, spanning every continent. The competition highlights how concrete supports modern life while also offering moments of beauty, creativity and human connection.
Thomas Guillot, Chief Executive of the GCCA, said: “The spectacular images submitted this year show concrete’s positive impact on people’s lives all over the world - sometimes practical, sometimes almost hidden, and sometimes very beautiful.”
CONCRETE INFRASTRUCTURE WINNER: Hidden Connection by Rafly Rinaldy, Jakarta, Indonesia
The Concrete in Life Photo of the Year 2025/26, receiving the top prize of USD$10,000, was awarded to Celbert Palaganas for “Pillars Across the Sea”, taken in Cebu City, Philippines. The image captures green coastal plants in the foreground while the Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway, the longest bridge in the Philippines, stretches across the horizon, creating a striking contrast between nature and engineering.
Celbert Palaganas said: “I am deeply honored and truly grateful to be the winner of this year’s competition. What inspired me was the contrast I witnessed in a single moment - the strength and permanence of concrete rising above, and the quiet strength of nature growing below. In that frame, I saw not conflict, but coexistence, where engineering and nature share the same space.”
Commenting on the winning picture, competition Judge, Chris George, Content Director at Digital Camera World said: “What a brilliant image with great colour, using the huge depth of field available with a smartphone to ensure the plants in the foreground are as sharp as the bridge’s structure.”
As well as the overall winner, four other category winners were also announced, each receiving a prize of USD$2,500. Ralph Emerson De Peralta was named category winner in Urban Concrete, for his photo called “Dubai Rising.” A photo of the MRT Rail Tunnel in Jakarta called “Hidden Connection” by Rafly Rinaldy won the Concrete Infrastructure category. Naitao Li (李迺涛) won the Concrete in Daily Life category for “Time and Space Travellers” in Harbin, China. The Beauty and Design category was won by Marcel Van Balken for his photo “Triangles” set in Antwerp, Belgium.
The People’s Vote prize, chosen by the public with a USD$5,000 prize, was won by Aung Chan Thar for “Rhythm on Concrete” set in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Mr Guillot added: “Concrete delivers our vital infrastructure such as bridges, railways and roads that connect us, as well as the homes, offices and schools we rely on every day. This competition gives people the opportunity to show just how important concrete is to them.”
