Federica Minozzi, CEO of Iris Ceramica Group and Prize Judge, says:
“We are really honoured to sponsor the Award. The Architecture Drawing Prize is a brilliant opportunity to demonstrate the genius of people and the desire to experiment. Hence the importance of it: it assumes a prominent role in reflecting architectural creativity.”
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.”
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 hybrid category 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.
The overall winner of The Architecture Drawing Prize will be announced ahead of the exhibition as part of a webinar hosted by Sir John Soane’s Museum on 29 January 2024 at 5pm GMT. Details will be available via the Soane website.
The hand-drawn category shortlist also included:
- The Glasgow School of Art Fire (triptych) by Alan Dunlop
- Trees and rocks, the shapeshifter by Alexander Warncke
- St. Stephen Walbrook by Luka Pajovic
The digital category shortlist also included:
- The Bucolic Palimpsest by Ziad Haddad
- Transcultural Journey on the Orient Express by Chi Wai Vincent
- Gall-E: Interpolating Arts, Space and Display in the Age of AI by Tom Chan
The hybrid category shortlist also included:
- Liverpool Capriccio 2200 C.E. by Tim Wheeler
- The Urban Anthro-Scape: Above by Alexander Jeong and Brandon Hing
The Architecture Drawing Prize judges for 2023 are:
- Nikki Bell and Ben Langlands, Artists
- Pablo Bronstein, Artist
- Paul Finch, Director of World Architecture Festival (Chair of Jury)
- Lily Jencks, Co-founder of Lily Jencks Studio, Jencks Squared
- Federica Minozzi, CEO of Iris Ceramica Group
- Narinder Sagoo, Senior Partner at Foster + Partners
- Ken Shuttleworth, Founder of Make Architects
- Louise Stewart, Head of Exhibitions at Sir John Soane’s Museum
The Architecture Drawing Prize is co-curated by Make Architects, Sir John Soane’s Museum and World Architecture Festival (WAF). The 2023 sponsor is Iris Ceramica Group with ArchDaily and Floornature as Prize media partners.
For the latest updates follow @architecturedrawingprize on Instagram.
