As a photographer I always try to understand the context and make sense of current events. COVID-19 ravaged the world, and while we were largely spared of devastating impact on the health of the Hong Kong citizen it required draconian measures to achieve so. And I don’t use the world “draconian” lightly.
The photo here was taken in Tung Chung, a large residential area adjacent to the airport. To achieve the zero covid strategy in Hong Kong, the government imposed measures where 1 case in a building would mean everyone in that building had to shipped off to a quarantine camp. As you can imagine in Hong Kong, where 99% of the people lives in highrises, these were drastic measures. In this case, Block 11 of Caribbean Coast was completely evacuated. Nearly 2000 people were required to leave everything behind.
While health wise we remained safe, the mental and economical damage has been tremendous. This being the real cost of Zero-Covid.
Special thanks to the jury who selected my photo as a category winner:
Laurian Ghinitoiu, Hamish Crooks, Katy Harris, Richard Bryant, Marco Iuliano.
And of course, the great organizer, Lynne Bryant, who makes The Architectural Photography Awards happen every year.
