How Tokyo public toilets inspired 2025 Sony World Photography Award winner Ulana Switucha



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 โ€œThe Tokyo Toilet Projectโ€.

Commissioned by the Shibuya municipal government and the Nippon Foundation, they were created by 16 architects and designers, including Tadao Ando and Kengo Kuma.

โ€œI 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,โ€ she says.

โ€œI went to all of these toilets. Each has a story behind it. Thereโ€™s one thatโ€™s totally transparent and, when you lock the door, it becomes opaque; thereโ€™s another one that looks like an igloo, with voice-activated controls inside.โ€

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