Architectural Visualization Challenge II

The second architectural visualization challenge is here as promised! This time with focus on two aspects of architectural design that caught my fancy. First one is the state of HOVER representing all types of cantilevered, bridged and by any other means floating spaces in architecture also giving the name to this Challenge. Second is prefabricated architectural design, known in short as PREFAB. I hope this will be a great experience to all participants and visitors of this blog and the forums and give a warm welcome to your new judges – Bertrand Benoit & Zoran Gorski (Kizo).

Hover Challenge Duration

21 July 2010 – 21 October 2010

Challenge has ended, visit the winners page!

Your Mission

In HOVER you will be given a set of premade model parts from which you will be able to derive your design base and visualize it. Serving as a visual set of rules the kit will allow you to start your design and later adding your own elements to it. There will be no limit of size or function, and much like in the previous challenge, the context is totally up to you.

You can create a small house hovering over an ocean facing cliff, suspended from trees deep into the jungle or smack in middle Manhattan protruding from one of the skyscrapers…

You are encouraged to think beyond the traditional or conventional interpretations and methods of architectural visualization. I would like to emphasize this time that photo-realness is not the aim, but certainly might be a mean to an end. One more important thing is that the design part of this challenge is second to the actual visualization process and and result.

Jump start your imagination and create something original. Try your best to evoke our emotions when viewing your visuals, making us feel what hovering is like!

HOVER Model Kit

The HOVER Model kit is made with SketchUP and includes a set of structure building blocks based on 3m x 3m x 3.3m size. You will find floor slab parts, windows, sidings, shade system, stairs & more. This is not a definitive set, but a base to build upon and one that will dictate a general look & feel. You will have to add your own elements that will also make it unique to you. You can either do it all inside SketchUP and export out – or just use the kit for the main structure and do all the rest in your native application.

SketchUP :
Download the HOVER model kit (Server 01)
Download the HOVER model kit (Server 02)

You will find more formats in the box folder :

Inspiration

Please visit the Inspiration page were you will find several examples that I’ve gathered during the past weeks.

Judging

On the Judging panel for this Challenge you will find yours truly as well as:

Photographer and 3D Artist Bertrand Benoit. Bertrand is truly a source of Inspiration for me and has a masterful touch in any image he turns out. He is the Grand Prize Winner of my first Architectural Visualization Challenge – The GH House and also won CGArchitect’s 2010 Architectural 3D Awards in the Best Overall Architectural Image category with that same GH House interior image.

Interview with Bertrand Benoit.

Head of ARSCOM Studio, Zoran Gorski (Kizo) is no stranger to challenges and was among the winners of challenges by Evermotion, 3DAllusions and Vizdepot in the past year. With 10 years of professional experience and master skills, I’m honored to have Zoran as a judge for HOVER.

Interview with Zoran Gorski.

Sponsors

Stack! Studios, VBvisual, Craft Animations, Exlevel, E-On Software, ASGVIS, Design Connected, Next Limit, Informatix, Refractive Software, Chaosgroup, Luxology, Soild Iris Technologies, Motiva, Materialwerk, ArtVPS, American Society of Architectural Illustrators (asai), Itoo Software.

Press Resource & Promotion Files

Please use the files in the folder below for promotion and publication of HOVER via your own channels.

More Information

Architectural Visualization Challenge II, HOVER

HOVER is starting! I’ve added the information pages to the blog under the Challenges menu option in the navigation above. You can also visit the forum and register right now if you haven’t yet. The model kit for the Challenge is online, so please download and start exploring it as well as review all the information and ask me anything you like by commenting below…

all the information gathered here will be edited and added to the FAQ page so that all participants can benefit from this.

The structure you see in the HOVER splash image above was built using the model kit ( + additional custom parts ) and is based on an architectural design by Chyutin Architects, probably the best public architecture firm in Israel.

[added July 22]Refractive Software bumped up the Grand Prize Octane Render License to a – LIFETIME LICENSE… so you get all updates ever for it.

How cool is that!

[added July 23]Model kit uploaded and available for download on the challenge page.

Good Luck and Have Lots of Fun!

Visit the Challenge page!

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