Out of the Shadows: Propelling Architecture’s Visionary Creators Into the Spotlight
Architizer’s Vision Awards is a global awards program for architectural media and representation, recognizing the world’s best architectural photographs, videos, visualizations, drawings and models, and the creators behind them. The inaugural edition opens for entries this spring: Register now.
How does it feel to be ignored?
I’ve heard from multiple people working within the realm of architectural practice — people contributing to the profession in wildly creative and compelling ways — that they feel left in the shadows when it comes to industry recognition. When a project gets published, the architects always get credit — and rightly so. But, as architects know only too well, it takes an army of brilliant creators to take a project from concept to construction.
What of the visualizer who created the rendering that convinced the client to commission that architecture firm in the first place? What about the drawing expert and the model maker, who helped the firm principal develop their concept and propel the project toward reality?
Once a project is built, what of the photographer, the one who took that incredible photo, capturing the architecture in all its glory, helping to get it published worldwide? And what about the videographer that brought the architecture to life, helping people experience the project from their chair and providing an extraordinary “visual testimonial” for the firm?
Clockwise from top-left: “Arachnophobia” by Tiffany Liem, Commended Entry, 2022 One Photo Challenge; “The Lantern” by Evan Mott, Commended Entry, 2022 One Rendering Challenge; “Golden Gait” by Michelle Simmons, Commended Entry, 2022 One Photo Challenge
It’s true that some of these people receive credit — but they have to shout about their contributions from the rooftops, aggressively self-promoting in order to get even a fraction of the recognition that is so regularly received by the architecture firms they collaborate with.
At Architizer, it goes without saying that we love what architects do, and couldn’t exist without them. The same can be said, though, of the wide array of talented creators that contribute to the visual communication of architecture, both real and imagined, on our platform.
Without them, amazing architecture would be trapped inside a box, visible only to the lucky few who are able to look up at it, walk through it and explore it in person. With them, that architecture is not only made real, but its story is shared, through every imaginable medium, with the whole world.
Clockwise from top-left: “(Your) My Bedroom” by Daniel Ho, Commended Entry, 2022 One Drawing Challenge; “The Window” by Xialu Xu, Commended Entry, 2022 One Photo Challenge; “Synopolis” by Lohren Deeg, Commended Entry, 2022 One Drawing Challenge; “About Storeys and Stories” by Guilherme Marcondes, Commended Entry, 2022 One Rendering Challenge
These creators help architects communicate their brilliance, bring form to their ideas, AND inspire clients to commission them for the next project. You simply can’t put a value on that.
If this narrative resonates with you, and you are one such creator, then Architizer’s Vision Awards is for you. This global awards program is dedicated to the world’s architectural photographers, videographers, visualizers, drawers and model makers, each of whom extols the value of well-designed architecture through their work, every day.
Publication in print and online awaits the winners, with global visibility assured, and networking and collaboration opportunities sure to follow.
Clockwise from left: “Urban Mountains” by Katharina Klopfer, Commended Entry, 2022 One Photo Challenge; “Copenhagen Opera House” by Antonio D’avolio, Commended Entry, 2022 One Rendering Challenge; “The city drowned by coffee” by Pengcheng Yang and Zirui Wang, Commended Entry, 2022 One Drawing Challenge
It is our hope that, by throwing the spotlight on these highly diverse and creatively rich disciplines, Architizer can utilize its platform to highlight the value of architecture beyond buildings. Our goal is to hold the world’s biggest digital exhibition of architectural media and representation, illuminating the skills, both technical and creative, that contribute to envisioning our built environment. The Vision Awards will highlight the power of imagery to make us stop, think and feel inspired by architecture, no matter where we are in the world.
Students, professionals and studios with a passion for photographing, videoing, visualizing, drawing and modeling architecture are invited to participate. Register now for the program — and get ready to celebrate the world’s best architectural creators with us!
Register for the Vision Awards
