One Rendering Challenge 2022: The Finalists (Part 3)

Explore more amazing architectural visualizations, each one a Finalist in the 2022 One Rendering Challenge!

Explore a further 25 extraordinary architectural visualizations, each one a Finalist in the 3rd Annual One Rendering Challenge. Let us know which are your favorites on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #OneRenderingChallenge!

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“#CC9999” by Inês Bandeira and Pedro Oliveira

““Color is a power which directly influences the soul.” — Wassily Kandinsky

We’ve decided to capture this specific perspective because we want to try and communicate the atmosphere and sensation of its space through its color. But also a space that would intrigue whoever came across it and that would help promote curiosity about other spaces that aren’t shown in the image. It could be either the corridor at the end of the hall or the stairs that brings a certain suspense of what might be at the top.

To create this concept of simultaneous events and feelings of the space, we started by merging a diversity of perspectives approaching an idea of spatial and structure composition through: mass, emptiness, rhythm, contrast, unity, dimension, scale and light. We also try to incorporate a relationship with nature, where we try to bring an identity with a complex composition.”

Software used: Twin Motion, Other

“Frontier of Galapagosization” by Jasper Lo

“Puerto Baquerizo Moreno is an urban settlement located on San Cristobal Island in Galapagos. Since 1959, any horizontal expansion of the urban areas is not allowed to protect the environment, nowadays is facing serious economic issues.

This modular timber structure utilized aquaponics to promote urban farming on the edge of the town. By designing a border typology to develop a place for agriculture, conserving nature and endemic species to dissolve the existing physical and cultural boundary. The structural material proposed the guava tree as a laminated timber panel, transferring the invasive species into building material.

The vertical farm provides a starting place to nurture the little coffee plantation until it grows up and send them back to the highland to continue working with the existing agriculture. As an intervention, it creates disturbance from the urban perspective to the environment and noosphere, leading the existing fragile system to positive cycles.”

Software used: Rhino, Lumion, Photoshop

“The Built Environment” by Wilson Costa

“This piece is more of a political statement to depict how the built environment can affect nature. The columns represent tall leafless trees in the forest. The concrete floors are dried out soil. The lack of colour represents most architecture today which is very monochromatic and dull without paying homage to the nature around it. The architecture industry needs to embrace nature more by incorporating living walls, green roofs, natural light and colour.”

Software used: SketchUp, Photoshop

“Beach House Daydream” by Jordan Gray

“”It was a longer winter than usual and time to leave the cabin, snowstorm, and mountains behind. The travel guidebooks were read end-to-end and accommodations booked early, the duffel packed full and ready. Then breaking news…”

This is a glimpse back on quarantine days through a surreal and hazy lens; a rumination on being locked-in during lockdown. A story about creature comforts and coping. A study of contrasts: cold and warmth, impositions and control, reality and daydreams. A virtual getaway for the mind.”

Software used: SketchUp, Lumion, Photoshop

“Architecture in Drag” by Michael Evola

“Architecture is in drag when it imitates architecture. It is a performance identifying and innovating upon the architect’s unknown knowns. This is one such performance. Architecture, known as stable, secure and structured is imitated as fluid. Similarly, this dress, or perhaps this building, is a ball house; an imitation of the architectural house. The latter is a place of comfort and shelter but not for all.

For those whose identities are fluid, the architectural house is anything but comforting. Than there are the houses of ball culture; imitative houses for those without an architectural house. An organization of individuals providing comfort and shelter to fluid identities. As a ball house, this organization is also fluid. Space, ritual and structure are drawn as unstable and unbound. It expresses the limitlessness of identity and the concept’s lack of truth, like a drag performer.”

Software used: V-Ray, Rhino, Blender, Photoshop

“Duplex Feeling” by Alberto Pizzoli

“”She has everything she needs inside the duplex cabin. A living area full of light and warm wood, a cozy cave-like bedroom and a bathroom overlooking the mountains. She spends all day outside, taking pictures and enjoying the landscape, happy to come back here for a warm shower and a quiet night.”

The image portrays a mountain cabin, located in the Alps. It can be rented for the entire season, to take advantage of the proximity with the ski slopes and the summer hikes. The atmosphere inside is warm and welcoming. A pleasant shelter. The key of the image is the position of the camera. The entrance is located on a platform between the two stair flights, and this point of view becomes a section of the space, showing the contrast between natural and artificial light. The final touch is the lady profile behind the glass, adding a sensual feeling.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer, Photoshop

“Nature Takes Over Again” by Dominik Stoschek

“In architecture, we often tend to only depict the beautiful and flawless parts while forgetting that it is the patina of a certain material or the irregularity in a structure that brings out the real beauty of a scene. Therefore, “Nature Takes Over Again” depicts an urban dystopia where nature is slowly but surely taking back what it once lost to humankind.
It takes place in a street that is completely abandoned but filled with human remnants.

Buildings framing the street are slowly falling apart and are overgrown with grass and plants. A few animals such as deer and ducks are reconquering this place again. In the background, you can glimpse the skyline of an abandoned city. The perspective guides the viewer’s attention towards a collapsed bridge which is the ultimate symbol of the end of humankind and the domination of nature.””

Software used: Rhino, Other

“Forest…Sweet Home” by Oscar Sanabria

“I remember the anger when the noise came…where was my forest???
The distant…those tall pines…. straight ahead, without obstacles…, I’ll never see them again….
But suddenly, step by step…. those hateful concrete blocks became my best accompaniment, fuller of life, beautiful at days and nights…

I cannot conceive of life without this beautiful view, and I recognize that it is not always easy to be a rock in the forest.

The Rock House design inspired by “Casa Retina” from Arnau Estudi d´Arquitectura.”

Software used: V-Ray, 3ds Max

“The Architecture of Numinosity” by Samuel Negash

“”Geometric proportions turn into shivers, stone into tears, rituals into revelations, light into grace, space into contemplation, and time into divine presence.” – Julio Bermudez

The “ineffable,” “immeasurable” and the “numinous.” The architecture of Numinosity draws from religious scholar Rudolf Otto and his ‘Idea of the Holy'”

Software used: V-Ray

“Nymphaeum” by Zana Bamarni

“This piece was inspired by Villa-Giulia in Rome, a building historically located at the emergence of the Baroque style. Its most interesting feature is the layered garden. Two levels underground is the most sacred area, the “Nymphaeum”, where the residents could rest, dine or meet with guests. A fountain and multiple marble statues enrich this place and create an idyllic atmosphere.

In my work, I tried to adapt this spatial layout to create a garden-like space which envokes a sense of protection and tranquility. Another aspect of the Baroque design language which partially found its way to the Villa-Giulia is the plasticity of the surfaces. I adapted this characteristic in a more contemporary way. The patterns are the result of projection and intersection operations, which blurs the shapes. The goal was to create a space that doesn’t give away its secrets so easily but invites you to uncover them.”

Software used: V-Ray, Rhino

“Grand Hotel” by Zana Bamarni

“This piece was inspired by the 20th century photographer Berenice Abbott and her collection about the New-York-City street life. I was fascinated by her dramatic yet melancolic imagery and tried to adapt elements like the strong light-shafts which pierce through the narrow streets and highlight a small, specific area. The surreal coloration of the material and the sometimes weird form language are supposed to strengthen the melancolic and almost dreamlike mood.”

Software used: V-Ray, Rhino

“Ice Towers” by Viviane Viniarski, Antonella Marzi, Chiara Marzi, Marta Dituri, Daniela Aru and Jose Gerardo Ponte

“A powerful and evocative gesture, a reinterpretation of the monument in a modern key.

Our concept design stems from abstract ideas and shapes in inhospitable environments that become an architectural project. The site context aims to stimulate people’s thoughts on the consequences of human intervention in the living environment and adaptation to architecture. Two crystalline monoliths emerge in the Arctic landscape. The building’s volume explores the sense as an ice sculpture on the rocks, by means of materials, textures, and colors.

As generated by tectonic forces, they guard and conceal an entire underground world. The towers rise from a submerged area, bursting through the surface, which integrating into the landscape – between the cliff and ocean waves.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Revit, Photoshop

“The Magician” by John Yim

“A fantastical recreation of the Golden Gallery at Schloss Charlottenburg, a mesmerizing interior space of splendid decoration rich with sculpture, textiles, and mirrors.”

Software used: Rhino, Cinema 4D

“Mirage” by Hamzeh Althweib

“Mirage, is an illustration for an exhibition space based on a dream I once had, in a time not so distant from ours. Illustrating a post-apocalyptic future, situated in a transitory exhibition space, presenting visitors to the notions of both individuality and conformity. While the focus is primarily on the people who are shaping the architectural outlook according to thier present reality, feelings of fascination and longing for freedom and peace, during uncertain times are also expressed through their disconnect from the brutal nature of thier surroundings.”

Software used: Photoshop

“The Places That Do Not Exist” by Noam Elyasim

“Generally, we tend to admire the most impressive, popular and most commonly knows as “beautiful” buildings and sites in the world. I sometimes try to shift my attention to a different kinds of sites and places. From time to time I find myself falling in love with those dark, shady and almost transparent places on one hand, but at the same time, places that are full of details, mystery, unique textures and life. In my opinion we need to pay attention to those places. Appreciate them, take a closer look at them. I’m positive that we’ll find something new each and every time we do.”

Software used: V-Ray, SketchUp, Photoshop, Other

“Whenever I See the Ocean I Think of Home” by Daniel Chen

“// The sound of the ocean,
salt air on a breeze,
thin lines of light across space tether you to me;
and on southern seas,
down by black sand beach,
there’s a ghost in the spaces where you used to be. //

La Mer (in English: The Sea), is an architectural monument that acts as a reflection of the ocean: the tensile roof surface ripples as the ocean wind blows on it, mimicking the effect of the waves below.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Rhino, Corona Renderer

“Inhabit the Uninhabitable” by Aristotle Gaddi

“Set in a post-apocalyptic, dystopian context where people are challenged to ‘Inhabit the Uninhabitable’, this project explores themes of discovery, new beginnings, and a sense of place. Located in the heart of the Patagonian Forest in South America, the project’s landscaping takes inspiration from the 100,000 hectares of land that fosters biological diversity.

The architectural language focuses on the importance and scale of landscaping on the built environment and how people inhabit these spaces.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer, Photoshop

“Black Sea of Trees” by Koen Klok

“The Japanese hold Mount Fuji in a special place in their hearts respecting the mystical qualities of the cone-shaped mountain for many generations. A long time ago in Japan a belief arose that spirits of the dead climbed up mountains and became gods (kami) at the peak. From al mountains Mount Fuji is sacred in particular. Japanese Buddhists revere the mountain is a gateway to another world.

The Cone is an architectural hybrid structure hovering on top of the pinnacle, self-fulfilling a prophecy. The structure is a symbol of hope for those who are lost, remaining hopeless in the Black Sea of Trees; Aokigahara. It provides shelter for those who reach the end of the pilgrimage after final efforts with severe prostratious powers. Better times await for those who dare to step in the cocoons of the cryonic hotel of the Cone. Come, come and see; give it a go.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer, Photoshop

“LUCI” by Roman Huzar

“Sitting in a big boat, sailing slowly in the river, watching the local fisherman standing with his cormorants on the traditional bamboo raft with lanterns near a small village hiding behind the morning fog and large mountains, and only small ships with candles flutter in the water, luring fish that one of the cormorants is ready to catch right now and bring to his master whose not just smiled, it was as if he was blooming leisurely, surprised himself that he was smiling and blooming…

This story is not really about traditional architecture, it’s about the environment in which we live, where man is a prism of what surrounds him and what was created by the main architect – nature.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer, Photoshop, Other

“Skyscrapers to Lifesavers- Rewilding Manchester” by Hermann Siu

“The climate and ecological crisis are no longer fringe concerns. From stratospheric ozone depletion, air and water quality degradation to deforestation, they are URGENT EXISTENTIAL THREATS to the human race. We must act to reset our relationship with nature. Rewilding our city restores the area to its centuries-long practice of HUMAN SUPREMACY to ECOLOGICALLY CONSCIOUS CONSUMERISM. Our capitalist culture requires this constant consumption and disposal.

This increases environmental degradation and climate change. But what if rewilding our city could reduce the magnitude of this EPHEMERALITY? Rather confining to the stereotypical language of simply promoting greater urban greeneries, one should stimulate the BUFFER ZONE between ECOCENTRISM and TECHNOCENTRISM. In turn, accelerating the developments of biophilic urbanisms to rectify the environment, society, and economy. Rewriting the relationship between HUMANS and NATURE is imperative. The old normal of taking and consuming is unambiguously malfunctioning. The NEW NORMAL must grow, restore, and cure.”

Software used: SketchUp, Rhino, Photoshop, Twin Motion

“Tamarack” by Daniel Temple and Alaina Temple

“It’s late afternoon, the sun is setting and the last vestiges of light are streaming through the Tamarack trees. It’s winter and the icy cold river is just starting to thaw at the bank as hope for Spring abounds. The warm glow of the cabins glow against the cool blue landscape as campfire smoke drifts through the larches.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Revit, Corona Renderer

“Afloat” by Osama Zia Khan

“Look at the sky; remind yourself of the cosmos. Seek vastness at every opportunity in order to remind yourself that you are a small cog in an enormous machine.

Our mind is like a cloudy sky: in essence clear and pure, but overcast by clouds of delusions. Just as the thickest clouds can disperse, so, too, even the heaviest delusions can be removed from our mind. The bubbles are reminiscent of a lucid dream, fragile and fragrant with hope. The house in the clouds is my reprieve from worldliness. It’s a place of solace, a break from monotony and a life of peace.

Software used: Lumion, Revit, Photoshop

“House in the Carpathians” by Ksenia Kora

“An ode to minimalism and graphics. We play with shapes and elements of nature. Experimenting with the horse figures, wintery landscape, and minimalist structures gave us what we needed: a balance of sharpness and sinuosity.
Our team has made these images for a small house surrounded by Karpathian mountains.”

Software used: 3ds Max, Corona Renderer, Photoshop

“Mars, Colony III” by CUUB studio and Arsenii Kolesnikov

“Situated in the middle of Utopia Planitia, a broad plain in the northeast of Mars, Colony III was settled in 2040 and opened to intrepid visitors a few years later. It sits on top of a vast underground ice reserve which contains as much water as the entire Great Lakes system combined. Each structure of the Colony III resort that houses you during your stay is covered by state-of-the-art ceramic-graphene shields to provide the utmost safety from gamma rays while making your stay as comfortable as possible.