While walking last month in the northeastern corner of Shawmut’s 350,000-sq-ft University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School construction site in Worcester, Mass., project photographer Zach Leighton noticed a union ironworker welding at the end of an I-beam. “Fortunately, there was the medical school building in the background,” he says. “I pulled out my long 70-200mm lens to compress the scene and frame the composition showing both the human and the building signage. The ironworker is the hero in this shot, and the UMass signage provides context and support.”

Set for completion in 2024, the $350-million research and education hub includes geothermal heating and cooling to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the building by 55% compared to serving its HVAC needs exclusively with the campus power plant. Leighton says his favorite part of the photo is the “diagonal I-beam cutting through the composition, which elevates the worker on a plateau of his own creation.”