123

The Architecture Drawing Prize 2023

Category and Overall winner announced

Now in its 7th year, The Architecture Drawing Prize continues to celebrate the art of drawing in three categories: hand-drawn, digital and hybrid. This year the Prize attracted a record number of entries with nearly 250 drawings from around the world. The sophistication of new technologies used by entrants and new ways of depicting buildings and spaces led to probing discussions amongst the jury about the nature and definition of architectural drawing as well as what constitutes conceptual drawing as opposed to illustration or the recording of buildings.

Eugene Tan was selected as the 2023 digital category winner. His drawing ‘The Archatographic Map of the Incomplete Landscape on Pedra Branca’ explores the vulnerability of our planet, more specifically in Singapore. Artists Ben Langlands and Nikki Bell, who have been on The Architecture Drawing Prize as judges since its inception in 2017, describe the entry:

“This beautiful, skilful, and complex drawing expands the usual range of representational possibilities offered by maps. Through this drawing, Pedra Branca, a tiny outlying island of the archipelago becomes a signifier for the limited land supply of Singapore, and its fragile ecology within the complex geo-political environment of the South China Sea.” 

The 2023 winner of the hand-drawn category is ‘Grundtvig’ by Ben Johnson. The ink drawing is inspired by the 1920s Grundtvig Church in Copenhagen made using six million bricks. Ken Shuttleworth, founder of Make Architects who originally set up The Architecture Drawing Prize, comments:

“As a jury we are inspired by Ben Johnson’s work and the way he has created a compelling art form from hand-drawings of buildings. The execution of the Grundtvig Church drawing is so controlled and precise that it becomes a meaningful expression of how Ben experiences architecture.” 

The 2023 hybrid category winner and the overall winner is ‘(Re)membering the See Monster’ by Eldry John Infante. It renders the transformation of a defunct oil platform and welcomes discussions that go beyond a structure’s physicality. Head of Exhibitions at Sir John Soane’s Museum and Prize Judge, Louise Stewart, says:

“We were impressed by this skilful and detailed drawing which has been digitally manipulated to create a very dynamic and varied composition. One of the drawing’s particular strengths is the way in which it uses a variety of visual languages, all of which convey information about how buildings work.”

The winning drawings will be displayed at the World Architecture Festival in Singapore (29 November – 1 December 2023). Sir John Soane’s Museum in London will exhibit both the winning and shortlisted drawings from 31 January to 3 March 2024.

Images.

1. The Archatographic Map of the Incomplete Landscape on Pedra Branca, Eugene Tan.
2. (Re)membering the See Monster, Eldry John Infante.

3. Grundtvig, Ben Johnson.

Wallpaper Magazine