Dafni’s entry was also joint winner in the Hybrid category. The other joint winner was ‘(Un)homeliness’ by Boji Hu. This work includes a hand-drawn short film together with a set of images. The two-part work explores the boundaries of private and public spheres by fulfilling the potential of the vacant urban interior to shield homeless people, refugee, and asylum seekers.
Fellow judge and architect Lily Jencks, co-founder of Lily Jencks Studio / Jencks Squared, commented: “‘(Un)homeliness’ is a powerful story told with a moody suggestive pencil gesture. It was exciting to see the stills animated with sound to convey a strong atmospheric urban scene, accompanied by beautiful renders to give a sense of a full potential of hybrid architectural drawings.”
‘Site(s) of Flux’ by Zachary Higson was selected as the Digital category winner. It was also chosen for the Lockdown Prize, the second year this prize has been awarded. A location-based project investigating the nature of place, it begins to question how a traditional architectural project should be carried out in terms of the relationships between studio (bedroom) and site.
Narinder Sagoo, senior partner at Foster + Partners and one of the judges, explained why it was selected as the winner in the Digital category: “Our digital prize winner creates a Soane-like montage of models, photos and paintings within a two-dimensional picture plane. A drawing within a drawing, and more. One could explore this piece time and time again, discovering another level of genius each time.”
The winner of the Hand-Drawn category was ‘Reconfiguring Addis Ababa’s Narratives’ by Antonio Paoletti. It depicts a graphic novel exploring a proposal for the redevelopment of Addis Ababa’s dilapidated historical districts, where the livelihoods of resident communities are threatened by the city’s rapid urbanisation.
The Sir John Soane’s Museum’s exhibitions curator and fellow judge, Louise Stewart, described the work: “This impressive drawing uses an unusual format to place narrative and the impact of buildings on peoples’ lives at the heart of architectural drawing. This approach highlights the vibrancy of architectural drawing today, and the way it facilitates creativity and experimentation.”
The 2021 judges were Robin Brodie Cooper, equity partner at Gleeds; Lily Jencks, co-founder of Lily Jencks Studio and Jencks Squared; Narinder Sagoo, senior partner at Foster + Partners; Ken Shuttleworth, founder of Make Architects; Louise Stewart, curator of exhibitions at the Sir John Soane’s Museum; and artist Pablo Bronstein. The jury was chaired by Paul Finch, programme director of the World Architecture Festival.
View this year’s commended and winning drawings.
The finalists and winners will be on display at the Sir John Soane’s Museum until Sunday 20 February. Dafni’s winning entry also forms part of ‘The Architecture Drawing Prize: 5 Year Retrospective’ virtual exhibition at the Vault of Contemporary Art, curated by the Soane and hosted in a virtual gallery designed by Make Architects. You can view her work in Room 12 here.
