Archisource Drawing of the Year Award 2025 | Deadline for submission of entries: Sunday, April 20, 2025

Archisource presents the Drawing of the Year Awards 2025, the sixth annual, creative imagery Awards – free to enter and open to all! The Awards are the ultimate accolade in visual representation across architecture, art and design in collaboration with D5 Render and HP. There is over £125,000 GBP ($150,000 USD) in prizes to be won, with the top 250 entries receiving Affinity V2 Universal Licences and D5 Render 180 Day PRO Licences! Top works will also be showcased at the major London Exhibition in July 2025.

The aspirational Awards recognise and celebrate excellence in visual representation, drawing and creative imagery supported by Affinity creative software. Submissions must convey: architecture, design or the built environment, but are open to all disciplines and recognise diverse visual creations across all styles, typologies and functions each year. Submit your works by 20th April 2025 at 23:59 GMT at archisource.org to be recognised for your creative talent.

Top works from the Awards will be showcased at the iconic Truman Brewery in Shoreditch from the 10th to 19th July 2025 as part of the major London Exhibition 2025. The Exhibition will be a major celebration of creativity and a unique collection of the best creative minds and future thinkers including top architecture studios showcasing their design process, alongside the top works that are pushing boundaries in visual representation and creative imagery.

With over £125,000 GBP ($150,000 USD) worth of prizes to be won this is one of the biggest prize collections out there! The six Award winners will receive the ultimate studio set up including a high-performance workstation from HP—either a HP ZBook Firefly 16” G11 Mobile Workstation with Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 processor or a HP Z2 G9 Mini Workstation with Intel® Core™ i7 processor, paired with an OMEN by HP 27” QHD Gaming Monitor or Poly accessory. Winners will also receive software licences from D5 Render, Affinity, SketchUp and MicroStation, giant stationery bundles from LEUCHTTURM1917 and Winsor & Newton, timeless furniture from Vitra, lighting from Tala and more!

Archisource is proud to be collaborating with D5 Render, HP and Affinity for the Drawing of the Year Awards 2025. D5 Render and HP Z Workstations inspire creatives to keep evolving, providing industry-leading tools and technology that help advance creative processes. D5 offers Education Licences to students, educators and educational institutions for free; unleash the powerful capabilities of D5 and transform your architectural projects. Affinity creative suite is the award-winning vector graphic design, image editing and page layout software used by architects and designers around the world.

The widely recognised prestigious Awards celebrate those that have truly excelled in creating standout drawings and imagery. There are six major award categories, focusing on the array of creative processes: Beyond Visualisation Award supported by Hayes Davidson, Digital Drafting Award supported by Bentley’s MicroStation, Digital Media Award, Hand Drawn Award supported by LEUCHTTURM1917 and Winsor & Newton, Mixed Media Award and Visualisation Award supported by Trimble SketchUp. New for 2025, standout works will also be recognised for specific skills and attributes through the Medal Categories including the Affinity Award.

Celebrating the diverse talents of creatives around the world, Archisource welcomes creatives from all backgrounds and drawings of all types. Whether it be hand-drawn or painted, rendered or collaged, detailed linework or diagrammatic – the expert judging panel wants to see your creations. 

Archisource believes creativity incites creativity and the Drawing of the Year aims to recognise, celebrate and give a platform to the very best talents across the world and to inspire so many more in that process.

Submit your works to be recognised amongst top architects, designers, artists and creatives globally by 20th April 2025 at 23:59 GMT at archisource.org

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“A stint in construction could be what architectural education is missing” by SA+C’s Lecturer in Regenerative Technical & Environmental Design, Urna Sodnomjamts for Building Design

The School of Architecture + Cities’ Lecturer in Regenerative Technical & Environmental Design, Urna Sodnomjamts on why hands-on construction experience helps architects bridge the gap between design and delivery

“Having now qualified as an architect, I have chosen to specialise in the architecture of reuse and retrofit, aligning with my interest in low-tech, low-carbon, and community-focused contextual development. I recently spent a year on the main contractor side, and my broadened understanding of delivery and construction has made me question the industry’s route to becoming an architect.

My construction role gave me invaluable insight into the unpredictable challenges arising during strip-out, detailed design, and construction – challenges that inevitably impact early concepts and designs. This move, albeit frowned upon by some in the architecture profession, has given me a layered perspective on how buildings are deconstructed and reassembled in retrofit projects, exposing me to many of the realities faced by non-architects within the industry.

I believe that if more architects undertook this type of work placement, it would benefit both architectural practice and the wider construction industry.”

To access the article in full please visit here.

PIXEL PRESERVATION | DS2.6 BA Architecture studio tutor Sho Ito to run a Summer School in Hanoi, Vietnam from July 7 to July 20, 2025 | Deadline for applications: June 1, 2025

When: From 7th of July to 20th of July 2025

Where: Hanoi, Vietnam

Pixel Preservation

AAVS Hanoi is a two-week research programme that explores the concept of experimental preservation within the unique and rapidly evolving built environment of Hanoi, Vietnam. In response to the relentless pace of urban regeneration and localised informal (de)construction practices that continually reshape the city’s fabric, the programme seeks to address these dynamic changes by focusing on the digital documentation of overlooked 20th-century architectural artifacts, particularly those at risk of being forgotten or erased. By tapping into Hanoi’s distinctive context, the programme also delves into the material culture and urban narratives surrounding these architectural relics.

Using digital tools and advanced research methods, participants will capture, analyse and preserve these architectural elements, highlighting their historical, cultural and sociopolitical significance. The programme critically examines how these artifacts have contributed to Hanoi’s organic development, revealing the underlying forces shaping the city’s informal forms of living, working and playing. By connecting the past and present through experimental preservation, the programme aims to foster a deeper understanding of how urban spaces evolve in response to both external pressures and community-driven forces. From these findings, we aim to establish a discourse on what constitutes Hanoi’s heritage and how it can be sustainably preserved for the future.

The research will be conducted in collaboration with several universities, institutions, curators and practicing architectural offices, providing a robust academic framework that includes lectures on the history and design of 20th-century Vietnamese architecture. This theoretical foundation will be complemented by office visits and hands-on workshops focused on 3D scanning, photogrammetry, filmmaking, and in-depth discussions on topics such as multiple modernities and experimental preservation. Students will work collaboratively, supported by personalised tutorials and review sessions. The project will culminate in the production of short narrated films, which will be publicly screened and exhibited.

For more information, please visit here.

Congratulations to Senior Lecturer Scott Batty on being shortlisted for RIBA East Awards 2025 for his project ‘1970s House Retrofit’!

Scott Batty, Senior Lecturer in the School of Architecture + Cities, has been shortlisted for the RIBA East regional awards for his project 1970s House Retrofit. Batty worked with visiting consultant Structural Engineers Dave Rayment and Henry Burling (Consultants for Year 3 BArch + MArch 2).

Rosa Schiano-Phan and her student Negin Esmailzadehhanjani (MSc in Architecture and Environmental Design) carried out a study of the project’s environmental performance.

Expertise in sustainable water strategies and low-carbon technology was provided by Cath Hassell, ech2o consultants, who is also a regular visiting consultant for Year3BArch + MArch2. 

The project was the principle case study for Batty’s Research Folio as part of REF2021.

Featured Image: Siobhan Doran Photography

Technical Studies Lecture Series: Armor Guttiérez [UEL] “Sugarcrete” | Thursday, October 17 at 18:00 (BST), M416 Robin Evans Room + Livestream

When: Thursday, 17th of October 2024 at 6pm (BST)

Where: M416 (Robin Evans Room), Marylebone Campus, University of Westminster, 35 Marylebone Road, NW1 5LS + Online

“The main innovation with Sugarcrete™ is to challenge the common understanding of biomaterials having low structural performance and to develop a system that can be self-supporting.

Armor Gutiérrez Rivas

The development of Sugarcrete™ is a wonderful example of a local collaborative initiative, albeit with a necessary international connection. The University of East London’s (UEL) Master of Architecture and Sustainability Research Institute (SRI), with the support of local manufacturer Tate & Lyle Sugars and architectural firm Grimshaw, has developed an innovative low-carbon construction material employing an arable waste product and the clever use of geometry.

Armor is an architect, researcher, and maker, interested in how innovation through sustainability can have a positive impact in our built environment. Prior to joining the University of East London as a Senior Lecturer, he gained extensive professional experience working for some of the world’s most distinguished architecture firms such as Bjarke Ingels Group in Copenhagen, MVRDV in Rotterdam, or KPF in London, where he attained the level of Associate Principal.

https://technicalstudies.tumblr.com

Lecture Archive

w.f.mclean@westminster.ac.uk – For details contact Will McLean

Call for Abstracts: “Heritages 2025 – London: University of Greenwich” | Deadline for submission: 15 July, 2024 [Early submissions]

Conference: 25-27 June, 2025

Location: London + Virtual

Deadline for submission of abstracts: 15 July, 2024 [Early submissions]

Call

A little over 25 years ago, the site of this conference, Maritime Greenwich, London, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Home to the first Palladian building in England, the Royal Naval College by Sir Christopher Wren, the National Maritime Museum, the Old Royal Observatory and the University of Greenwich, it is one of the UK’s most important historical sites. It is home to ground breaking projects in digital heritage, the Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, and a variety of major arts and cultural events annually. It is promoted by its ‘state-of-the-art’ visitor centre and ardently protected by the UKs Listed Buildings and Conservation Acts. It is a quintessential site of world heritage.

However, as a site located in the city of London, it feels the pressures of economic and urban development. It is threatened by the strains of mass tourism and can be at risk of over exposure. It is located near areas of social deprivation and its buildings and parks are in need of continual, and costly, maintenance. Managing the site for local residents, the heritage community and visitors is complex and can be contested. In this regard, Maritime Greenwich is also the epitome of the difficulties faced across the heritage sector, the world over.

Using the World Heritage Site of Maritime Greenwich as a point of departure, this conference seeks to explore the critical questions for the international heritage sector today from various disciplinary perspectives.

For more details please visit here.

Announcement and Call for Participation – Workshop: ” The Architecture of Time” | Deadline for submission: July 1, 2024

When: November 14 and 15, 2024, 9am–5pm

Where: Furness Building/Fisher Fine Arts Library, top floor (“old Kahn studio”), University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, USA

What: A two-day workshop bringing scholars, designers, researchers, and theorists together who wish to foreground the topic of time in architecture—a field where space usually dominates—in order to compare notes, mutually enlighten, and pursue collaborations.

Why:

• Architecture’s involvement with time (as over space) is beginning to escape orthodox Modernist tropes. These tropes, created by the practice and theories of the Futurists, Constructivists, and Cubists of the early 20th century and systematized mid-century by historians in thrall to relativistic physics like Siegfried Giedion and Bruno Zevi, mainly had to do with movement through space over time, with emphasis on speed.

• Vestiges of these tropes are still with us, prioritizing not only transportation systems, ramps, stairs, elevators, catwalks, openness, flows, and overlooks, but prioritizing too the look of movement, using streamlining, unstable-looking shapes, and avian or marine zoomorphism as well as large, actually-moving building parts and media displays.

• But time enters and enlivens buildings in other, less imagistic ways too: ways having to do with the felt duration of our days relative to a building’s, with the seasons, wind, and sound, with purpose, memory, and history, with upkeep, re-use, and construction (the processes), with community and continuity, serendipity and kairos. We are speaking here of time understood in the tradition of philosophers like Bergson and Merleau-Ponty, writers like Proust and Woolf, artists like Duchamp and Eliasson.

• This workshop is dedicated to exploring time in (at least) two aspects, the phrase “Architecture of Time” referring (1) to how buildings and urban landscapes register or “tell” time, resist time, age nonetheless, hold history, need maintenance, are parts of longer projects, interact with time-based arts, and so forth, and (2), to the structure (“architecture”) of temporal experience as such, i.e., as distinct from but also connected to spatial experience. With regard to this second aspect, might theorists of architecture have something to say to philosophers, neuroscientists, and clinicians studying consciousness itself, or narrativity, or the structure of mental calendars, all subject (to some degree) to cultural variation? And might they have something to say to designers and thinkers about architecture? For surely human consciousness was organized—given shape—not only by the world encountered very long ago, i.e. by nature, but also by the worlds we have imagined and crafted since, and by the things we know and can do now.

Format

Day One: Presentations by the four conveners, each with discussion. Lunch at large. Group dinner.

Day Two: Presentations by six researchers (see Call below), each with discussion. Lunch at large. Cocktails.

Call for Participation

With this Announcement, the conveners are calling for

(1) PresentersPaper presentations by scholars, designers, researchers, poets, and theorists world-wide whose projects are involved with understanding the “architecture of time” in one or both aspects mentioned above, at or above the PhD level. Application deadline: June 3, 2024. Required: substantial abstract (500-700 words) plus a 100-word biographical sketch, sent to one of the conveners. Six papers will be selected for presentation. Decision 1st July 2024.

(2) Discussants (face to face): individuals who are drawn to the topic and have relevant expertise are invited to nominate themselves to be Discussants. Please send a Letter of Interest to one of the conveners by September 15, 2024. Space limited.

(3) Visitors: with due regard for space limits (around 40 people), Visitors are invited to attend all or part of the workshop proceedings. Please contact one of the conveners a few days before the event to check for likelihood of space, or simply show up.

About the Conveners:

Jonathan Hale is an architect and Professor of Architectural Theory at the University of Nottingham. He holds a PhD from Nottingham and an MSc in the History of Architectural Theory from the University of Pennsylvania. His research interests include: phenomenology, embodiment, and the philosophy of technology. Publications include: Merleau-Ponty for Architects (Routledge 2017) plus the co-edited volumes Housing and the City (Routledge 2022), The Future of Museum and Gallery Design (Routledge 2018), and Rethinking Technology, (Routledge 2007). He is Head of the Architecture, Culture and Tectonics (ACT) Research Group at Nottingham and was founding Chair of the international subject network: Architectural Humanities Research Association. Contact: Jonathan.Hale@nottingham.ac.uk

David Leatherbarrow is Emeritus Professor of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania and Foreign Dean of Southeast University. Born in the United States and educated in the US and England, he has lectured throughout the world and held guest professorships in Britain, Denmark, and China. Questions of how architecture appears, is perceived, and shapes topography direct his research. Among his twelve books are Projecting Urbanity: architecture for and against the city (2023), Book of Ruins, with John Hunt (2022), Building Time: architecture, event, and experience (2020), Three Cultural Ecologies, with Richard Wesley (2018), Architecture Oriented Otherwise (2009), Topographical Stories (2004), Uncommon Ground (2000), and two books co-authored with Mohsen Mostafavi, Surface Architecture (2002) and On Weathering (1993). In 2020 he was awarded the Topaz Medallion, the highest award given by the AIA and ASCA for excellence in architectural education. Contact: leatherb@design.upenn.edu

Sophia Psarra is a Professor at the Bartlett, University College London, where she also directs the Architectural and Urban History and Theory PhD Programme. She holds a PhD and an MSc from the Bartlett, UCL and a Masters from the Technical University of Athens. Previously, she was Associate Professor at the University of Michigan and Senior Lecturer at Cardiff University. Her research interests are on the relationship between architecture, spatial experience, social relations and cultural meaning. She has studied the visitors’ experience of cultural institutions such as MoMA, New York, and the Natural History Museum, London. She is currently researching the architecture of parliaments and parliamentary spaces of Europe. She has won first prizes in international architectural competitions and her work has been exhibited at Venice Biennale, the George Pompidou Center, NAI Rotterdam, and in London, Berlin, Milan and Athens. She is the author of Architecture and Narrative (2009) and The Venice Variations (2018), editor of The Production Sites of Architecture (2019) and co-editor of Parliament Buildings: The Architecture of Politics in Europe (2023). Additionally, Sophia was the editor of the Journal of Space Syntax (2011-2015). Contact: s.psarra@ucl.ac.uk

Michael Benedikt is an ACSA Distinguished Professor of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin, where he holds the Hal Box Chair in Urbanism and teaches design studio and architectural theory. He is a graduate of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and of Yale University. Although he has practiced at small scale, he is best known for his writings and lectures worldwide. His books include For an Architecture of Reality (1987), Deconstructing the Kimbell (1991), Cyberspace: First Steps (1991), Value (1997) and Value 2 (1998), Shelter: The 2000 Raoul Wallenberg Lecture (2001), God Is the Good We Do: Theology of Theopraxy (2007), God, Creativity, and Evolution: The Argument from Design(ers) (2008), and his latest, Architecture Beyond Experience (2020). He has published over a hundred articles and chapters in edited books, and executive edited and contributed to fourteen volumes of CENTER: Architecture and Design in America (1994–2019). As a specialist in the phenomenology of space, he is also the originator of isovist theory, and helped design the app ISOVIST (http://www.isovists.org) by Sam McElhinney of UCA Canterbury. Contact: mbenedikt@utexas.edu

SAHGB’s Annual Architectural History Symposium for PhD and Early Career Researchers – Call for Papers: “Re-Reading and Understanding the Narratives of the Other” | Deadline for submissions: May 10, 2024

Deadline for submissions: 10th of May 2024

Response: c. 17th of May 2024

Symposium: Weds. 26 and Thurs. 27 June, 2024, in person at Birmingham City University, with an online registration option

Contact: symposium2024@sahgb.org.uk

Full Post at: https://www.sahgb.org.uk/call-for-papers/2024-sahgb-ecr-symposium  

There is increasing recognition that in order to foment real social progress, the acknowledgement of social struggles and the inclusion of voices, particularly of those from the ‘margins’, is required to alter entrenched social hegemonies. Such an imperative necessarily calls for the rewriting of architectural history.

This symposium is an invitation to do this rewriting, from the points of view of hitherto marginalised, silenced and gaslighted personhood. To challenge and subvert what is considered to be the “established” and the “canonical” a pre-requisite for social progress. We therefore encourage forgotten, peripheral, marginal and new “re- readings,” which can turn into vital lessons for actualising social progress.

*The call invites contributions from all regions, about all time periods, and from all disciplines and constituencies within Architectural History. Members and Non-Members are very welcome to send in proposals*

This call asks for:

  • What narratives are under-represented throughout the discipline of Architectural History and of Architecture as practice and industry?
  • What is the social effect of “re-reading” narratives of architectural history?
  • How much of our understanding of architectural history is curated by unexamined problematic power relations between, for example, Europe and part of the Global South; between male and other genders; between the human and the non-human?
  • What demands are required of the Heritage/Architectural History and research sectors as a result?
  • In what ways does the re-reading of Architectural History reframe the discourse around narratives of the “Other” to adequately encompass the “Other”? How can this be propagated in today’s practice to provide socially-just spaces?
  • How should we as historians relate to ‘problematic’ figures/subjects from within the history of architecture? Can a certain kind of treatment of such figures and subjects provide useful insights with a view towards achieving social progress, or should such figures and subjects simply be censored / cancelled?

We are interested in the less explored, the new and the non-traditional, in terms of approaches to research, case studies, events, figures, subjects, pedagogies and methods, and the relationship of these to dissemination, archiving and curation.

For further information on how to sign up to the event as a delegate, please watch for registration and programme information on the SAHGB ‘What’s On’ Diary or follow on social media and our members’ newsletter.

We are a charity with a small team, and passing on or sharing this call will us enormously.

w: sahgb.org.uk  

e: info@sahgb.org.uk  

X: @TheSAHGB

i: thesahgb_

Urban Radicals (Era Savvides and Nasios Varnavas), Millimetre and AKTII selected for “Navigating Change: Reimagining the Square Mile”

Congratulations to Urban Radicals with Millimetre and AKTII who have been selected by LFA and City of London BIDs as winners of the “Navigating Change: Reimagining the Square Mile” competition to design a trail of architectural interventions across the City of London.

Urban Radicals is a collaborative studio run by Era Savvides (Level 5 Year Lead for BA Interior Architecture at School of Architecture + Cities) and Nasios Varnavas (Tutor BA Architecture at School of Architecture + Cities) with an interesting take on regenerative use of materials – their proposal requires them to deliver four public pavilions across the City this summer which will be activated by public events run by various institutions, schools and stakeholders.

More details can be found here.

Featured image: Era Savvides (left) and Nasios Varnavas (right), LFA website

Call for submissions: Archisource – Drawing of the Year Awards 2024 | Deadline: Sunday, March 17, 2024

“Archisource presents the Drawing of the Year Awards 2024 – the fifth annual, creative imagery Awards – open to all and free to enter! The Awards are the ultimate accolade in visual representations across architecture and design, celebrating the very best imagery created by students and professionals around the world, receiving thousands of entries every year. There is over £100,000 GBP ($127,000 USD) worth of prizes to be won, with the top 250 entries receiving a free Affinity V2 Universal Licence!

2024 marks the fifth year of the aspirational Awards which recognise excellence in image creation, celebrating the diverse visual creations across all styles, typologies and functions. The Awards are open to all disciplines and can be created in any medium or style. Submissions must convey architecture, design or the built environment.

The Drawing of the Year 2024 is brought to you in partnership with Affinity, the award-winning graphic design, image editing and page layout software used by architects and designers around the world. The top 250 entries will receive a free Affinity V2 Universal Licence including Affinity Designer 2, Affinity Photo 2 and Affinity Publisher 2 for Mac, iPad and Windows PC worth £159.99 GBP ($200 USD).

The widely recognised aspirational Awards series celebrates those that have truly excelled in creating standout drawings and imagery. There are six major award categories, focusing on the array of creative processes: the Drawing of the Year Award, Digital Drafting Award supported by Bentley’s MicroStation, Digital Media Award, Hand Drawn Award supported by LEUCHTTURM1917, Mixed Media Award and Visualisation Award supported by Chaos. The Awards are also supported by Vectorworks, Tala Lighting and reMarkable.

With over £100,000 GBP ($127,000 USD) worth of prizes to be won this is one of the biggest prize collections out there! The six Award category winners will win the ultimate studio set up worth up to £12,500 each – including a huge array of software licences, creative tools and studio essentials that every creative needs. In addition the shortlisted entrants will all receive the opportunity to be internationally published by Archisource on their global channels and publications.

In June 2024 we’re also launching our inaugural physical exhibition in Central London, showcasing the very best works. The exhibition will be an exciting opportunity to be displayed amongst some of the best creative talents from around the world.

Celebrating the diverse talents of creatives around the world, Archisource welcomes creatives from all backgrounds and drawings of all types. Whether it be hand-drawn or painted, rendered or collaged, detailed linework or diagrammatic – the judging panel wants to see your creations.

Archisource truly believes in the power of drawings and the Drawing of the Year aims to recognise, celebrate and give a platform to the very best talents across the world.

We look forward to judging your submissions. Good luck to all! 

Enter by 17th March 2024 at archisource.org