ENR 2025 Year in Construction Photo Contest Winners: Material Beauty
January 28, 2026
ENR 2025 Year in Construction Photo Contest Winners: Material Beauty
January 28, 2026Photo by Brandon Blum, Webcor Builders;
Submitted by Rochelle Buckner, Webcor Builders
ENR readers chose this striking image by Blum, Webcor marketing specialist, for the print issue cover in an online poll, where it received more than 40% of the vote. It depicts contractor crew members assembling an intricate scaffold system above active passenger areas at San Francisco International Airport to ensure safety in upgrading the terminal roof and exterior and adding solar energy panels at a facility with 59 million annual travelers. Blum says the shot from within the scaffold structure shows the “interplay of depth, light and human coordination that captures the quiet complexity” of construction amid busy airport operations.
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The Photos
Meet the Judges
This year’s winners from a crop of more than 1,100 submitted photo contest entries offer up stunning and eye-opening glimpses into day-to-day activity across the global construction sector.
While laying out the pages that follow, Senior Art Director Scott Hilling noticed interesting similarities and patterns.
“The judges did a fantastic job with their final selections and there seemed to be a lot of shots this year from varying heights, looking down from high up for some shots with amazing depth of field that give you an unexpected one-of-a-kind site view,” he says.
“One photo inside a building of skylights is transformed into a beautiful work of art. It shows that a winning photo can be anywhere—you just have to take your shot!”
As you flip through the pages of this year’s 42 winning photos and 16 awarded honorable mentions, read each caption for deeper insight into how the photographer created the specific shot and what is happening on site at that moment.
“I say this every year, but you can see it in the images what a great palette construction is,” says Hilling.
“The range of colors, patterns, shapes, movements, materials, project missions and worker emotions are fully on display in the collection.”
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
Beverage Manufacturing Plant, Rochester, N.Y.
Photographer and Submitter: Alycia Wachtel
Interstate-90 Bridge replacement, Weston, Mass.
Photographer and Submitter: Moritz Schmid
Broadway Center for Youth, Seattle
Photographer and Submitter: Richard Martin
Lincoln Water Infrastructure Improvement Project, Ashland, Neb.
Photographer and Submitter: Sara Scott
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
Biomedical research facility, University of Arizona, Phoenix
Photographer and Submitter: David Gibler
University of California, College of the Law 100 Mcallister Project, San Francisco
Photographer and Submitter: Henry Dombey
Roanoke Career and Technical Education Center, Roanoke, VA.
Photographer and Submitter: Shaun Hudson
Blue Mountain Transmission Line, Vernal, Utah
Photographer and Submitter: Jeremy Gudac
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
Citynorth Project, Phoenix
Photographer and Submitter: Robby Brown
Confidential Project, Canton, Okla.
Photographer and Submitter: Robb Williamson
University of Minnesota Converted Coal Boiler, Minneapolis
Photographer: Brian Wodka
Submitter: Kyra Coley, RMF Engineering
Demolition of International Trade & Exhibition Centre, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong
Photographer and Submitter: Kin Kei Fan
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
Joint-user Complex, Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong
Photographer and Submitter: Kin Kei Fan
Gordie Howe International Bridge, Windsor, Ontario
Photographer and Submitter: Josh Krzywonos
Wilmington WasteWater Treatment Plant, Wilmington, Del.
Photographer: Casey Templeton And Stu Maxey
Submitter: Kelli Mann, Allan Myers
Ciner Glass Container Production Plant, Lommel, Belgium
Photographer and Submitter: Onur TüLü
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
Miami Signature Bridge, Fla.
Photographer and Submitter: Nicole Bryant
Gonzaga Ridge Onshore Wind Project, Hollister, Calif.
Photographer and Submitter: Robin Scheswohl
Hankook Tire Manufacturing Plant Expansion, Clarksville, Tenn.
Photographer: Matt McFarland
Submitter: Elizabeth Jensen, Clayco Corp.
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, Medora, N.D.
Photographer and Submitter: Chad Ziemendorf
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
Pleasanton Asphalt Plant, Pleasanton, Calif.
Photographer and Submitter: Daniel Mekis
Brooklyn Detention Facility, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Photographer and Submitter: Matthew Lapiska
North Unit Irrigation District—43 Lateral Segment 2 Piping Project, Madras, Ore.
Photographer and Submitter: Kelley Hamby
Greenheck 700, Tulsa, Okla.
Photographer: Shane Bevel
Submitter: Submitted by Jenna Maloney, Timber Wolf Excavating
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
Elk Mills Quarry, Elk Mills, Md.
Photographer: Casey Templeton And Stu Maxey
Submitter: Kelli Mann, Allan Myers
Tower Hill Rd. Bridge Replacement, North Kingston, R.I.
Photographer and Submitter: Moritz Schmid
Confidential Project, Rocky Mountains, U.S.
Photographer and Submitter: Chuck Morgan
Black Desert Resort, St. George, Utah
Photographer: Jeremy Gudac
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, Medora, N.D.
Photographer and Submitter: Chad Ziemendorf
Suncor Syncrude Mildred Lake Base Maintenance, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Photographer and Submitter: Robb Williamson
The Aerial Advantage, Port Allen, La.
Photographer: Collin Richie
Submitter: Andrew White, Turner Industries
Construction Site, Taiwan
Photographer and Submitter: Nok Hang Chan
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
Los Angeles International Airport, Los Angeles
Photographer: Earthcam
Submitter: Kevin McGarr, EarthCam Inc.
Hoboken Ferry Terminal Renovation, Hoboken, N.J.
Photographer: Earthcam
Submitter: Kevin McGarr, EarthCam Inc.
Cul-de-Sac Island Pour, Mt. Pleasant, Wis.
Photographer and Submitter: Greg Kirstein
Acceso Ferroviario al Puerto Exterior A Coruña, Spain
Photographer: Daniel López Reboll
Submitter: Regina López Tudanca, Sacyr S.A.
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
Grand River Dam Authority Unit 4, Chouteau, Okla.
Photographer: Jorge Osorio
Submitter: Kirsten Trease, Crossland Construction Co.
Valleywise Health Demolition, Phoenix
Photographer and Submitter: Robby Brown
Grand Canyon Transcanyon Waterline & Water Treatment System, Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz.
Photographer: Danner Hillman
Submitter: Kurt Robinson, Stronghold Engineering
Remote Oil Sands, Edmonton, Alberta
Photographer and Submitter: Robb williamson
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
SFO Airport Upgrade, San Francisco
Photographer: Brandon Blum
Submitter: Rochelle Buckner, Webcor Builders
CSU, Dominguez Hills Phase IV Student Housing and Resident Dining, Carson, Calif.
Photographer and Submitter: Max Halberg
Honorable Mentions
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
Concrete Gravity Structure, Argentia, Newfoundland
Photographer and Submitter: Geoff Ash
Macalester College Building Demolition, St. Paul, Minn.
Photographer and Submitter: Ethan Berg
Onshore Wind Project, Farmersville, N.Y.
Photographer and Submitter: Dennis Lee
JRV Materials Equipment, East Providence, R.I.
Photographer and Submitter: Moritz Schmid
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
Solar Array Project, Upstate New York
Photographer and Submitter: Chuck Morgan
Wilmington Wastewater Treatment Plant, Wilmington, Del.
Photographer: Casey Templeton and Stu Maxey
Submitter: Kelli Mann, Allan Myers
Hospital Demolition, Phoenix
Photographer and Submitter: Nate Meraz
D Line Extension, Los Angeles
Photographer and Submitter: Jacob Greenlund
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
RDU Runway, Morrisville, N.C.
Photographer: Chad Ratkovich
Submitter: Andy Flowers, the Beaver Excavating Co.
Sound Transit Pinehurst Station, Seattle
Photographer: Peter Bohler
Submitter: Taylor Carroll, Sound Transit
Bethel Park Elementary School, Bethel Park, PA.
Photographer and Submitter: Daniel Djukic, Rycon Construction
Grand Canyon Transcanyon Waterline Project, Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz.
Photographer: Danner Hillman
Submitter: Kurt Robinson, Stronghold Engineering
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
Morningside Ministries at the Meadows - Greenhouses, San Antonio
Photographer and Submitter: Alex St. Pierre
Kuo Kuang Engineering Project Site, Taiwan
Photographer and Submitter: Nok Hang Chan
Light Fixture Installation, Charlotte, N.C.
Photographer: Abseilon USA
Submitter: Monique O’Neill, Rodgers Builders
Waffle Slab Concrete, Okland Project Site, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Photographer and Submitter: Aidan Curley
*Click on the photos for the full photo and description
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