It’s time to get your pencils sharpened and your computer mice primed — architecture’s biggest drawing competition is back! The third annual One Drawing Challenge is now accepting entries, with an Early Entry Deadline of July 2nd, 2021. Begin preparing your work for a shot at $2,500 and global recognition:
Enter the One Drawing Challenge
Note: We have updated our system and you must now use your Architizer login credentials to access your One Drawing Challenge account. Click the button above to sign in through Architizer or create a new account.
As in previous seasons, the question posed by this global ideas competition is simple: Can you tell a powerful story about architecture with a single drawing?
Left: “Together Alone” by Yee Bless, Handel Architects (2020 Non-Student Winner); right: “Concrete Atla(nti)s” by Hannah Christy and Craig Findlay, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (2020 Student Winner)
Entry Guidelines
Your task is as follows: Create one drawing that communicates a new architectural proposal or existing piece of architecture, and the experience of those that would inhabit it. It can be located anywhere in the world and be at any scale. It can take any of the following forms:
- Plan
- Section
- Elevation
- Perspective (1 or 2 point)
- Parallel Projection (axonometric, isometric etc.)
- Sketch
- Detail
- Abstract
Your drawing may depict a real or imagined space, place, building or group of buildings. As long as it portrays architecture in some form, it is eligible. Your drawing should be accompanied by a short description of your proposal, which comprises your “story”. Your story should help explain what your drawing depicts, which could include: The type of architecture portrayed, where it might be located, who might inhabit it, what atmosphere it conjures, the essence it captures, and what makes it special.
Your drawing should be a minimum of 2000 pixels wide, with a maximum file size of 15MB. All the competition guidelines can be found here.
Note: We have updated our system and you must now use your Architizer login credentials to access your One Drawing Challenge account. Click the button above to sign in through Architizer or create a new account.
Left: “Here Everywhere” by Hans Villamayor (2020 Commended Entry); right: “Sanctuary of Disney’s Unloved Children” by Xinze Seah, Bartlett School of Architecture (2020 Commended Entry)
$5,000 in Cash Prizes — and More Chances to Get Published
Success in the One Drawing Challenge provides you with the chance to be published across Architizer, making your work visible to a design community of more than 4 million people!
As well as having their work reviewed by the influential jury, two top winners will scoop $2,500 and an exclusive interview with Architizer to discuss the creative process behind their work. 10 further Commended Entries will also be published in the Official Winners Announcement, while Finalists will also have their work published and promoted to Architizer’s huge global audience.
New for 2021, 8 Special Mentions will be selected from the Finalists, one for each drawing type: Plan, Section, Elevation, Perspective, Parallel Projection, Sketch, Detail and Abstract. These drawings will be published in their own exclusive editorial on Architizer, giving drawings of all kinds the spotlight this year! To increase your chances of success, consider submitting multiple drawings to the competition in a variety of formats — as long as your drawings depict a building or group of buildings, they are all eligible.
Note: We have updated our system and you must now use your Architizer login credentials to access your One Drawing Challenge account. Click the button above to sign in through Architizer or create a new account.
Left: “Podalida” by Joakim Dahlqvist (2020 Commended Entry); right: “A story in my mind” by Sebastián Camacho, Martinez Arquitectura (2020 Commended Entry)
New to the Jury: James Wines, Bless Yee and More
Finalists will be scored by a stellar jury of practitioners and thought leaders from the worlds of architecture, design and technology, each with a special connection to drawing. The jury will represent those leaders who are actively bringing architecture to the public today, both online and in the built environment.
Exciting new additions to this year’s One Drawing Challenge jury include renowned architect and artist James Wines — who has drawings exhibited in the Museum of Modern Art, no less! — and Handel Architects Associate Bless Yee, who scooped the non-student prize last year for her incredible drawing “Together Alone.” You can read more about Yee’s extraordinary illustration in this exclusive interview.
For entrants and winners, the One Drawing Challenge presents a huge opportunity to get their work in front of the people shaping how the world engages with architecture, now and in the future. To learn more about every member of the jury, click here!
Left: “The Warehouse of Unfinished Ideas” by Graham Kelman (2020 Commended Entry); right: “View of Apartment #5, a Labyrinth and Repository of Spatial Memories” by Clement Laurencio, Bartlett School of Architecture (2020 Commended Entry)
Share Your Drawings With the World
For all the information you need on the competition and to jump to the entry form, head to the official One Drawing Challenge website. We can’t wait to see your drawings, and the stories they tell — good luck from the whole team at Architizer!
Enter the One Drawing Challenge
Note: We have updated our system and you must now use your Architizer login credentials to access your One Drawing Challenge account. Click the button above to sign in through Architizer or create a new account.