I would like to thank all the challengers and guests for taking part in this event, the sixth among many more to come! I would also like to send a big thank you to the my sponsors for taking part and help in making this great challenge possible.

Big thanks to fellow judges Kim Libreri, Wyeth Johnson, Gianpiero Monopoli and Roberto Cepp De Rose for dedicating their time and professional expertise not only for the final judgment but also supporting my efforts during the challenge from day one.

Stay tuned for the ‘Making-Of’ articles by the winners that will be posted in the coming weeks.

Challenge Mission

I’ll start by reminding the mission to begin with was :

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to visualise “The Vineyard” using Unreal Engine 4 in doing so.

The theme was chosen specifically to take advantage of the power of Unreal Engine 4, namely a blend of high fidelity interior spaces and stunning outdoor vistas. You are encouraged to think outside the box to interpret a Vineyard and Winery setting of your own design.

3 months, 242 entries, 54 final submissions and we are now down to the 4 main winners…

TEAM – Grand Prize / Factory Fifteen, United Kingdom

$25,000 Cash Prize + NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X

Factory Fifteen present ‘La Geria’ :

Set in the remote volcanic mountains of Lanzarote, this high-tech vineyard utilises automated harvesting drones to pick the grapes and process them on transport.

Our building design includes an underground production facility, wine storage and tasting area, 6 luxury apartments, a world-class spa with interior and exterior pools, massage parlours, steam rooms, saunas, interior and exterior restaurant / bar and a gallery space for local artists.

The film takes us on a short journey from the drone harvesting fields through to the buildings interior. We have tried to create a flow in the edit, with dramatic transitions through the production facility and linking spaces with framed photography of the vineyard itself, on the walls within the apartment.

Many of the most photogenic spots of our design featured in the film so we have taken slightly altered cameras from many of these and tweaked the settings slightly. We have two formats, wide panoramas and square details / crops.

Watch Factory Fifteen’s final entry…

TEAM – Runner Up / Work, South Africa

$7,500 Cash Prize + NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X

Work present their entry :

An angular homage Delugan Meissl’s Festival hall has been re-appropriated to that of our vineyard. Echoing its inspiration, the form is guided by its landscape, and in very much the same way, our vineyard is guided by Meissl’s proportions.

The incisions and folds somehow relate to the act of wine making, with layering and complexities underlying a simple and pure idea.

Experiencing the building is sensory, and so is the art of winemaking. Subtle changes in topography guide the viewer through a journey of the palette, and tectonic tensions in the architecture continually remind us that there is a human condition interwoven into the form, and the form’s intension.

Watch Work’s final entry…

SOLO – Grand Prize / Rostislav Nikolaev, Russian Federation

$12,500 Cash Prize + NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X

Rostislav present his entry :

I looked at a lot of examples, while thinking about the building and surroundings. I wanted to make the project a mix of old and new. Thus was born the skeleton of an abandoned building of the old church, which was reconstructed and rebuilt in the winery, adding around a modern shell and new parts. The new purpose of the building remains associated with the old, in fact, as we know, the monks often produce wine, also very tasty.

The winery is on the lake, on the one hand surrounded by rocky mountain, and in the other two – the endless vineyards.

Entering through the main entrance, we find the reception and lobby. You can go to the second level of this wing – where hotel rooms are located on the left and a spa area with swimming pool – on the right. Just beyond the reception begins open hall-transition and lounge area, where the couple like to arrange weddings. It grows flowering trees, and you can go for a walk in the landscaped courtyards. At the end of the hall is a large fireplace, which can be seen even from the entrance. There hangs the bicycle, which is said to have found in the reconstruction of the old church.
Just beyond the fireplace starts bar and tasting area. Upstairs on the balcony – a restaurant where you can walk past the wine production. On the left the big room, where wine barrels are stored. Therefore, these wings are not so much lighted.

Almost all models are imported from 3dsMax. The hardest part was that to import the skeleton of the building I needed a day and to import a glass and a plate – also needed a day.

Watch Rostislav’s final entry…

SOLO – Runner Up / Alex Leiva, Australia

$3,500 Cash Prize + NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X

Alex present his entry :

Architecture is born from the site and the environment dictates its typology. My design is inspired on the dramatic geography of New Zealand. My entry shows the mix of nature and architecture, with humans in the midst.

Watch Alex’s final entry…

Honorable Mention / Sergey & Noel, Spain

$3,500 Cash Prize + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980Ti

After a day of work, as usual we visit Ronen Bekerman’s website, was where we saw the contest, yet still very newbies with EU4; our love for art and the desire to grow up, makes us to participate. These have been a few months of hard work, but also where we have fun learning.

We are Sergey and Noel, 21 and 24 years, from Spain. Not much since we came into the 3D world. We are both passionate about architecture, design and video games, and now we are excited with the idea of mix up all in one. Our expertise is mainly based on “archviz”, 3D architectural modeling and design. Recently we had the opportunity of being part of the game “Atom Universe” as associated developers, we hope to continue growing up and materialize the architecture on a digital world.

Project’s philosophy: We did not want to focus on an industrial winery, but we wanted to build a haven of rest from the foundations of an old ruins of an old small winery, maintaining its historical value and the connection with the culture of wine.

Watch Sergey & Noel’s final entry…

Interactivity Mention / 133, USA

$2,000 Cash Prize + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980Ti

We are students learning game design. We decided to enter the competition to improve our skills. Our original concept was to do a Greek / modern theme, but we decided to go for interactivity instead when we discovered the amazing talents of the community. The project uses VXGI from Nvidia, which allows us to dynamically light the map. This project allows users to alter the building, landscape, material, and other elements in real time.

Watch 133’s final entry…

Best use of UE4 Mention / Victor Vazquez Gonzalez, Spain

$2,000 Cash Prize + NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980Ti

The Wine Valley Winery is set in the top of the mountains where the visitors can enjoy the views while tasting the local products and of course, the wine. I designed the project basing on the shape of the landscape (W). Almost everything in the interior reminds the spectator this unique settlement. Starting from the main logo to the ceilings, pergola or the elevator beams. From the main atrium, the visitor can see every floor of the building. It has three heights and brings light to the entire place. I wanted to detail every corner of the project, I didn’t want to leave any empty spaces but at the same time not filling them with props as the main starring here is the architecture with its materials, shadows and lights.

Each area has its own features: the bedroom lets the visitor to customize its materials and turn on and off the lights, the main hall has functional elevators and, in all the building you can check the floor-plan at any time. All these options were made using UMG and blueprints. Knowing the UE possibilities I also used all the post production settings for the video and the pictures instead of making them in an external program. As for the landscape, I decided to use all the tools UE provides instead of going directly to the height-map import.

I wanted to sculpt my own mountains and valleys and give them a personal touch. I believe UE gives the freedom for doing almost anything, I’m very happy with the results. One last thing, I uploaded the .jpg files, if you prefer the raw ones in .png format just ask me for them. They are around 4k resolution. Thank you Ronen for giving me this great opportunity and thank you Epic for totally changing the way I can work with archviz!

Watch Victor’s final entry…

View all the entries on “The Vineyard” portfolio