The Architecture Drawing Prize has announced the shortlisted entries for its 2020 edition covering three categories Digital, Hand-drawn and Hybrid.

The judges were impressed by the outstanding quality and variety of entries into this year’s awards, the number of entries (165), countries represented (30) and the increase in entries from students and under-30 architects (35).

"Entries were up this year (39 extra), despite (or possibly because of) Covid-19 and lockdowns. The quality of entries was if anything higher than recent years and an encouraging sign of the ongoing interest in architectural drawing in various media. Many of the entries were eligible to be considered for a special ‘Lockdown Prize’, reflecting the changes to the built environment as a result of the pandemic," said World Architecture Festival Programme Director Paul Finch. 

"Judging was very encouraging, and we look forward to the exhibition of the shortlist at the Soane Museum in the New Year – and the announcement of the Lockdown Prize winner, category winners and the overall winner."

Digital Category shortlist:

Image courtesy of Shahar Cohen & Jerram Rosen under Amaia Sanchez-Velasco 

The Theatre of Fictions, A collaboration between Shahar Cohen & Jerram Rosen under Amaia Sanchez-Velasco for Hyperecologies III, University of Technology, Sydney.

Image courtesy of Hans Villamayor

Here Everywhere: Orchard, Hans Villamayor

Image courtesy of Chenglin Able

Re-Reading Metropolis, Chenglin Able, University of California, Berkeley

Image courtesy of Jack Ingham

Fetching a Bucket of Steam, Jack Ingham, Newcastle University

Image courtesy of Swee Yong, Formwerkz Architects

Entombment of Fear / Nuclear free Japan (Perspective), Swee Yong, Formwerkz Architects

"The digital entries engendered a very interesting debate this year; questioning the role of the seductive perspective for architectural communication, the capacity of digital tools to create infinite photo-realistic detail, or the potential of more easily including layering objective information. The shortlisted candidates show the breadth of digital tools used, and an excitement for different drawing languages used to render architectural ideas today," said Lily Jencks, Cofounder, LilyJencksStudio, JencksSquared – 2020 Judge.

Hand-Drawn shortlist:

Image courtesy of Matthew Poon

Polymorphous Spatial Monosodium Glutamate, Matthew Poon, UCL Bartlett X-25

Image courtesy of Joshua Bristow

Construction as Heritage: A Case for Discrete Industry, Joshua Bristow, London Metropolitan University (Unit 8, MArch)

Image courtesy of brousse marc

Dear Hashima, brousse marc, marc brousse

"The hand-drawn category was the largest and this reflects the continuing importance of this practice for architects. A pen or pencil can be a tool to aid creative thinking and architectural innovation and this was amply demonstrated by the entries we received," Louise Stewart, Curator of Exhibitions, Sir John Soane's Museum – 2020 Judge.

Hybrid shortlist:

Image courtesy of Jono Yoo

Mechanical Theatre of Smash Palace, Jono Yoo, The University of Auckland

Image courtesy of Victor Hugo Azevedo and Cheryl Lu Xu, Robert A. M. Stern Architects

Airplane Tower, Victor Hugo Azevedo and Cheryl Lu Xu, Robert A. M. Stern Architects

Image courtesy of Jeff Stikeman, Robert A.M. Stern Architects

Choate Colony Hall, Jeff Stikeman, Robert A.M. Stern Architects

Image courtesy of Clement Laurencio

Apartment #5, a Labyrinth and Repository of Spatial Memories, Clement Laurencio, Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL

"This year, the hybrid category really demonstrated how effective the combination of different media can be in creating a compelling range of diverse and exceptionally evocative drawings," Ken Shuttleworth, Founder, Make Architects – 2020 Judge.

The Prize is curated by World Architecture Festival, Sir John Soane’s Museum and Make Architects. It embraces the creative use of digital tools and digitally produced renderings, while recognising the enduring importance of hand drawing.

This year also saw the introduction of a special prize focused on the global lockdown during the Covid- 19 pandemic. The "Lockdown Prize" will be awarded to a drawing completed during lockdown or relating to the changes that Covid-19 will bring to architecture.

The winners of each category (digital, hybrid, hand-drawn), the "Lockdown Prize" and the overall Architecture Drawing Prize 2020 winner will be revealed in January 2021.

The winners and commended works will go on display at a dedicated exhibition at Sir John Soane's Museum in London in January – February 2021. At WAF 2021, the winners will be exhibited on the drawing prize stand and the commended drawings viewed via an interactive video screen. 

Each of the category winners will present their work on the Festival Hall stage. The overall winner will be presented with their trophy on the final day of the festival.

Top image: Digital category: Entombment of Fear / Nuclear free Japan (Perspective), Swee Yong, Formwerkz Architects.

> via The Architecture Drawing Prize