Photo Contest 2025: Future Now!
For the ARL Congress 2025, we invited participants to capture the socio-ecological transformation through images.
This gallery presents their perspectives.
These photographs reveal how our living spaces are evolving—telling stories of progress, but also of the tensions that come with change. They highlight both innovative solutions and the social and environmental challenges we must navigate.
More than a mere documentation of transformation, these visual narratives invite reflection: How does change manifest in your surroundings? And how can we all contribute to shaping a sustainable future?
Welcome to this virtual exhibition—a collective vision of change in motion.
Jezeří Castle threatens to sink into the "Czechoslovak Army" open-cast lignite mine. But change has begun. The coal phase-out is a done deal and the renovation of the castle is part of an ambitious plan to transform the entire Most region.
“no longer needed” - the decarbonization of the transport sector will mean that fossil fuel stations will no longer be needed. The removal of the fuel pumps in the photo is symbolic of this transformation.
“Oasis” - the model of the car-friendly city characterizes our urban spaces. But the redistribution of space is in full swing - even if every square meter has to be painstakingly conquered.
“Urban forest” - Our cities are heat islands. Climate change is putting them under enormous pressure. The green conversion needs strong symbols - like the conversion of the Calwer Passagen in the heart of Stuttgart.
“Let's go!” - Change begins in the mind and ends in built transformation. Communication is essential. Like with this poster that calls for =cycling instead of refueling=
“Just do it” - transformation starts small. Why not get started right away? The urban space is waiting for it.
‘Sinking’ trees - (energy) landscape in the course of time | The picture shows the Cottbus Baltic Sea in the Lusatian lignite mining area during flooding in March 2024. The area of the future local recreation area has been reshaped several times in the course of a human lifetime: the former settlement, agricultural and meadow areas were demolished in favour of the development of the Cottbus-Nord open-cast mine in the 1970s/80s. Lignite mining and the energy industry changed the landscape into a dusty, technical-looking desert. The Jänschwalde power station in the background still symbolises this period today. With the end of lignite mining in 2015, new uses had to be defined for the hollowed-out areas after less than 40 years. The development of a lake should enable leisure-related activities in particular. At the same time, however, questions of energy generation are being addressed. Large areas for wind turbines border the lakeshore, the water surface offers space for floating PV and a lake water heat pump also seems technically feasible. The transformation of the area of more than 19 square kilometres can be visualised as a snapshot during the flooding of the lake using the ‘sinking’ trees. The trees, which grew as pioneer trees on the former mining area, give way to the future lake area in a blaze of colour.
1st place jury voting
Survival in the face of climate change is linked to prosperity and wealth, a conflict for survival. | In urban areas, it is clear that under current conditions and without significant changes, survival can only be ensured with massive technical effort. Overheated urban and residential spaces require cooling technology that exacerbates the situation and is only accessible to the wealthy. The air conditioning units in the picture symbolise the massive intensification and at the same time make it clear that demands for urban design and aesthetics are reduced to absurdity against this backdrop. Urban transformation must be more than a short-term (cool) answer.
2nd place jury voting & winner of the ARL Congress Audience Award
The legendary and nature-loving ghost of the mountain Rübezahl will be very pleased with the environmentally friendly railway project Jelenia Gora - Karpacz!
In Barbados, the Future Centre Trust enacts small-scale change by combining blue for clean water, green for hydroponic food, and yellow for solar power. Birthed by the “Village of Hope” project, the Future Centre Trust proffers a museum of the future, demonstrating how local initiatives could inspire and lead global transformation.
In central Seoul, South Korea, an elevated motorway was transformed into Cheonggyecheon stream with walking paths. It is a community space, for local events, socialising, relaxing, and exercising. During storms, public access is closed and rainfall runoff inundates the paths, reducing nearby flooding. Air pollution decreased and, since the initiative added public transport, traffic flow in the area improved.
more is less. - ( Large building site in Düsseldorf, NRW, Germany 2024. In the foreground a small shed. A simple and sustainable construction.)
Old warehouse in Wismar, Germany. Ordnung u. Sauberkeit. - (This warehouse certainly has seen better times. By now a lot of these warehouses have successfully been renovated.)
The Forgotten Golden Arches Story: In a remote corner of the world, where the jungle meets a dusty path, stands the ruins of what was once a bustling roadside eatery. Locals call it "McRuin," a nickname for the lone structure bearing the unmistakable logo of the golden arches. Decades ago, an ambitious entrepreneur attempted to bring the fast-food giant to this far-flung region. For a brief time, the small McDonald's became a symbol of progress, attracting curious travelers and locals. But as time passed, poor infrastructure and dwindling foot traffic led to its closure. Nature began reclaiming the building, vines creeping over the walls as the once-bright red and yellow faded under the tropical sun. Today, it stands as a surreal relic, a monument to globalization meeting the unforgiving wilderness. Travelers occasionally stop by to snap photos, pondering how such an iconic brand came to fade away here.
Ocean Serie 2023 Middle EAST. The ocean is life and give life. We have to take care of our water and this image shows the ocean in Middle East. We have to clean up the ocean from plastic and stuff like this.
Where human nature draws its boundaries, we are trapped in the fog. The utopia beneath our feet. The hope of a breakthrough to a better world without limits in our heads. And yet we only need one thing to survive: An intact nature that holds the same amount in store for every living being. One that realises this promise subject to the survival of the fittest. And so the overpopulated planet, which is dominated by some and understood by few, remains the projection surface between utopia, hope and what actually makes us feel good: A dense forest in the fog.
All recycling saves waste and raw materials
The High Line in New York is one of the world’s most famous adaptive reuse projects. Since opening in 2009, it has become one of the city’s most famous landmarks. But the transformation of an abandoned rail line into a green space above the city streets also has its drawbacks. While initially symbolizing urban resilience and innovative urban transformation, the High Line inadvertently fostered eco-gentrification by a house price increase, a relocation of the working class and and a large in-migration of wealthy populations.
The Fella River catchment in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region (Italy) is exposed to different natural hazards: Floods, avalanches, debris flows and landslides threaten the area. After an intense flash flood event occurred in 2003, causing terrible damages and even human casualties, structural mitigation devices were built as protective measures. While after the event some residents were concerned with the security of their property, demanding the construction of mitigation measures, others complained about the visual impacts and the fact they were not consulted. The exposure to natural hazards requires action and sometimes even transformation, which may cause conflicts between different stakeholder related to risk management and mitigation issues.
At the IIMB in Bangalore, India, they have understood how green areas can be sensibly integrated into architecture to create a pleasant climate.
At the IIMB in Bangalore, India, they have understood how green areas can be sensibly integrated into architecture to create a pleasant climate.
Renewal“ shows how old and new technologies interact with each other and thus extend existing technologies.
Road reinforcement at the lake reservoir - The state road next to the Reschen lake (South Tyrol/Italy) has to be relocated due to an increased risk of rockfall. This requires the artificial lake to be drained and a new dam wall to be built using the material from the bottom of the lake.
3rd place jury voting
Avalanche protection structures after the great windthrow - After the large windthrow, it was absolutely necessary to secure the slopes so that no new avalanches could descend and reach the valley. (Obereggen, South Tyrol)
Living on the Urban Edge - Narratives of the coastline in its livelihood, resilience, and adaptive dynamics are interpreted as transformative ecologies. Marina Beach, Chennai, being the second longest urban beach poised for shoreline redevelopment, transforming way of life of the fishing community, addressing man- nature nexus and socio- economic connotations of the vulnerable urban edge. Image 2 Guardians of Ecology Constructs of the community in transforming protector shrines, as guardians of natural networks, marking vestiges of village boundaries entwine socio cultural facets, rituals and everyday urbanism in the conservation of ecologies.
Informal place of shopping and trading
Real Utopia - Transforming a former private site into a public space while preserving parts of its character and enabling new uses through greenery and de-sealing measures—impossible? Not at all! Zurich’s MFO Park has done just that since 2002. Built on a former industrial site of the Maschinenfabrik Oerlikon (MFO), it offers balconies on different levels, a minimalist water basin, and a rooftop sun deck. The park embodies what one could call a "real utopia“ in the sense of Erik Olin Wright. ArchDaily / Leete, R. I. (2022): Paul Clemence Captures Burckhardt & Partners' Zürich’s MFO Park in Bloom. Online: https://www.archdaily.com/980008/paul-clemence-captures-burckhardt-and-partners-zurichs-mfo-park-in-bloom (lastly accessed on 13.02.25). Kanton Zürich (n. d.): Entsiegelung begehbarer und befahrbarer Oberflächen. Online Protected link (lastly accessed on 13.02.25). Wright, E. O. (2015): Durch Realutopien den Kapitalismus transformieren. In: Brie, M. (ed.): Mit Realutopien den Kapitalismus transformieren. Beiträge zur kritischen Transformationsforschung 2. Hamburg: VSA Verlag. Zürich Tourismus (n. d.): MFO-Park. Online: Protected link (lastly accessed on 13.02.25).
Courage - Transformation by design requires courage: courage to break new ground, take risks, and make mistakes. In Linköping’s Vallastaden district, this courage is evident. No two buildings look alike – housing types, materials, shapes, and colors vary dramatically. No architect designed two adjacent buildings, and 40 different developers contributed. Highlights include a green-blue ribbon of public infrastructure and covered public spaces that invite people to barbecue, craft, or play table tennis, fostering social interaction and community. Klimat Kommunerna (n. d.): Vallastaden in Linköping: A dense, green and varied city disctrict. Online: Protected link (lastly accessed on 13.02.25). IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute (n. d.): Vallastaden – a Model for Sustainable Planning of Cities and Districts. Online: Protected link (lastly accessed on 13.02.25).
