The Architecture Drawing Prize 2020 announced the shortlisted entries in the Digital, Hand-drawn and Hybrid categories. This year’s contest gathered more admissions than the previous edition, with 165 entries from 30 countries, 35 of which are from students and under-30 architects. In addition, the 2020 competition introduced the ‘Lockdown Prize’, focused on the global pandemic, awarded to a drawing related to the architectural changes brought by the coronavirus.
Curated by WAF, Sir John Soane’s Museum and Make Architects, this prize embraces the creative use of digital tools and digitally produced renderings, while recognizing the enduring importance of hand drawing. This year also saw the introduction of a special prize focused on the global lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic. The ‘Lockdown Prize’ will be awarded to a drawing completed during lockdown or relating to the changes that Covid-19 will bring to architecture.
Despite or because of Covid-19 and lockdowns, entries this year were up by 39, according to World Architecture Festival Program Director Paul Finch, who chaired the judging panel. In fact he stated that “the quality of entries was if anything higher than recent years and an encouraging sign of the ongoing interest in architectural drawing in various media. Many of the entries were eligible to be considered for a special ‘Lockdown Prize’, reflecting the changes to the built environment as a result of the pandemic”.
The winners of each category (digital, hybrid, hand-drawn), the ‘Lockdown Prize’ and the overall Architecture Drawing Prize 2020 winner will be revealed in January 2021. Moreover, the front-runners and commended works will go on display at a dedicated exhibition at Sir John Soane's Museum in London in January – February 2021.
Read on to see the shortlisted entries from each category.
Digital Category Shortlist
- The Theatre of Fictions, A collaboration between Shahar Cohen & Jerram Rosen under Amaia Sanchez-Velasco for Hyperecologies III, University of Technology, Sydney
- Here Everywhere: Orchard, Hans Villamayor
- Re-Reading Metropolis, Chenglin Able, University of California, Berkeley
- Fetching a Bucket of Steam, Jack Ingham, Newcastle University
- Entombment of Fear / Nuclear free Japan (Perspective), Swee Yong, Formwerkz Architects
Hand-Drawn Shortlist
- Polymorphous Spatial Monosodium Glutamate, Matthew Poon, UCL Bartlett X-25
- Construction as Heritage: A Case for Discrete Industry, Joshua Bristow, London Metropolitan University (Unit 8, MArch)
- Dear Hashima, brousse marc, marc brousse
Hybrid Shortlist
- Mechanical Theatre of Smash Palace, Jono Yoo, the University of Auckland
- Airplane Tower, Victor Hugo Azevedo and Cheryl Lu Xu, Robert A. M. Stern Architects
- Choate Colony Hall, Jeff Stikeman, Robert A.M. Stern Architects
- Apartment #5, a Labyrinth and Repository of Spatial Memories, Clement Laurencio, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL
