THE WINNERS OF DRAWING OF THE YEAR 2017

What is Everyday Utopia? 234 architecture students from around the world have asked themselves this question and submitted digital drawings for the competition Drawing of the Year 2017.

The approaches to the theme are as diverse as the techniques exercised in the digital drawings. Using combinations of the analogue pen, 3D renderings, collages and much more, the contestants have explored different aspects of everyday utopia and how it can be created in a chaotic world.

The jury was impressed by the overwhelming burst of creativity and clever concepts demonstrated in the drawings. The drawings show great technical skills combined with intelligent, playful and explorative takes on drawing as a craft.

Friday 1 December 2017 the winners and special mentions were announced at Aarhus School of Architecture.

1st prize: The One Day Unit

Charles Weinberg (Belgium) and Shai Ben Ami (Israel) from Bezalel Academy of Arts & Design, Israel, win the first prize of EUR 5000 for a drawing where everyday experiences are composed into everyday utopia. The drawing shows 29 globes organised in a grid to depict the numerous possibilities of organising the buildings, animals and people that shape our lives and surroundings.

The jury especially emphasises the technical and conceptual qualities of the drawing: “The drawing is well composed and works in different scales – from a distance to close up where the rich details can be explored. Playful and artistic the drawing connects content, message, and illustration into a strong, beautiful drawing. It is open-minded and open-ended.”

2nd prize: Amazonia

The winner of the second prize of EUR 2000 is Richard Morrison (UK) from the University of Westminster, UK. His axonometric drawing shows how our world is organized for shopping and distribution. And the sections in the drawing give a view of the layers of advanced technique and structures supporting this way of living.

“The concept is overpowering, putting forward a precise idea and question. It is simultaneously political, architectural, detailed and explained. It is polemical. Our reliance on Amazon is already a reality, and the drawing of an everyday utopia becomes an extension of a future life we somehow already live,” says the jury.

3rd prize: Cinderella’s Lost Shoe

Ifigeneia Liangi (Greece) from The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL, UK, wins the third prize of EUR 1000 for her 3D rendered drawing of historical myths and fairytales.

The jury praises the drawing for the surreal and playful universe: “The drawing itself holds the energy of contradictions. It is technically very skilled and precise and supports the concept. Here, the everyday utopia is a quest – removed from society and normality to follow a dream.”

Special mentions

• Derek Deng (China), University of Auckland, New Zealand: Symbiotic Futurism – Establishing Architecture’s Place Within a Progressive Society
• Aleksandar Fisik & Dušan Stevanović (Serbia), Faculty of Technical Sciences, Serbia: Crossing the Border
• Gonzalo Rojas Encinar (Spain), Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid, Spain: Idyll
• Anthony Chun Ming Ko (Australia), The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL, UK: An Activist Artefact
• Erik Bean (Finland), Aarhus School of Architecture, Denmark: The Grand Tour of EUtopia
• Xiaobing Zhou (China), The Bartlett School of Architecture UCL, UK: Climatic Clouding City
• Viktor Gekker (Russia), University College Cork – Cork Centre for Architectural Education, Ireland: Archive of Temporality;[RE]CODING THE CITY IN A FESTIVAL OF TIME
• Kevin Pazik (United States), Princeton University, United States: Daily Tasks

The Jury

• Moon Hoon (KR), architect and founder of Moon_Bal_Sso/MoonHoon Architects
• Trine Berthold (DK), architect and associate partner at schmidt / hammer / lassen architects
• Torben Nielsen (DK), architect and rector at Aarhus School of Architecture

Jury report and special mentions

• Jury report (PDF)
• Presentation of the winners and special mentions (PDF)

Drawing of the Year 2017 is sponsored by schmidt / hammer / lassen architects, VOLA and the Danish Arts Foundation.