Looking for inspiration at Architectural Visualization Day

Architectural Visualization Day, which was held for the sixth time this year, has grown into one of Europe's leading meeting places within the field and an international arena for the industry. Many of the people in attendance are returning participants and proof that of the event's impact on the architectural visualization field.

- There are speakers here from around the world inspiring us. No matter how you work, you can find various ways to be inspired by others and I think that's really great. One of the things I'll remember about the day is the variation in speakers. We heard about everything from the industry's history to tips and tricks in Photoshop to how they were able to advance on their personal journey, says Britta Wikholm who was  moderator for the day.

- We have established ourselves internationally and receive visitors from several countries, explains Åsa Andblad, who is one of the founders of Architectural Visualization Day and Creative Manager at Visual Arena. The event has become established at this stage and participants and speakers alike know that we maintain a high level, continues Åsa.

Unique event with important purpose

This annual event is clearly very important to the participants. Kristina Wikström and Katarina Persson are architectural visualizers from Stockholm's Urban Planning Office and participating for the third year in a row.
- I think it's a unique event for Sweden. This has been a consistently good programme all three years and I have felt inspired every time. You see what others are doing and the creativity is contagious, says Kristina. 

- The mixture of content is the best. First, you get to see how the speakers work and it feels like you learn something new from every person on the stage. You see at the training sessions that you can make use of things that you hadn't thought of before... says Katarina.

The audience's high level of interest and knowledge was noticeable. Many of the questions from the audience related to which programs could be used or how many pixels were necessary. Peter Rosengren from Råformat Visualiseringsbyrå and Daniel Ringdahl from Grey completed their studies at Yrgo Architectural Visualization a year and a half ago and now the two were in attendance on Architectural Visualization Day to take in the energy and inspiration. 

- I am the only visualizer at my job. You work with the same things every day, so it is great to just come out and talk with people who do the same thing. When you come back to the office and sit down to work, you have loads of new ideas and want to immediately google Photoshop tutorials, says Daniel.

- I am here today because I want to advance our professional role. We don't have a trade union. Archviz is extremely new. If you're an architect, you're an architect. There's a professional association and a network in place. Be we haven't really defined ourselves. I think there are a few very interesting questions: what happens after the education, how many people get jobs and how do you get tips and tricks down to the smallest detail? Architectural Visualization Day can serve this purpose, says Peter. 

Clear desire to inspire among speakers

Some of this year's main speakers were internationally renowned representatives, such as Pawel Podwojewski from MOTIV, Chloé Le Reste, András Káldos from Brick Visual.

First out for the day was Pawel Podwojewski, based in the USA, who showed how to make sketches quickly and effectively in order to impress customers, among other things. He guided the audience through his various works and showed examples of how he found the perfect atmosphere and how to get the lights from cars in the right nuance on a shimmering snowy Seattle road.

Nigel Hunt, a filmmaker and GCI director in London, also shared his life experience and talked openly about mistakes and difficult times in the industry and then offered inspiration for how to get on your feet again. 
- Welcome your mistakes and then find a company or build your own studio where you are allowed to make such mistakes, says Nigel.

Chloë Le Reste, based in Paris, is a photographer who runs her own company and shared her experience with the creative process, choice of subjects and how she finds inspiration. The audience was shown buildings and locations with beautiful patterns and perspectives.
- Inspiration comes from everything around me, more or less consciously. I think that travel, in particular, is very rewarding, as well as reading and contemporary art, to name a few things. I like to study the work of photographers, architects, designers and visual artists. Meeting new people and interacting are a major source of motivation to develop ideas and true creativity, says Chloë. 

András Káldos made the final appearance for the day and gave an inspiring presentation in which the audience determined the subject matter. Most in attendance wanted to hear about lessons, working processes and look at interesting show reels. 
- I see my role as a discussion starter who asks questions and covers topics that may be controversial at first, such as the link between art and business or education and talent searches. At Brick Visual, with our main office in Budapest, we started everything from the ground up and learned as we progressed through practice, mistakes and progress. This wide-ranging experience gave us a good perspective and we really feel feel like our knowledge is beneficial and worth sharing. Architectural Visualization Day is a fantastic platform for sharing and learning, says András.
- I enjoy smaller events like this. The advantage is that you can talk with people and it's more honest because it's more intimate. It is truly its own little community. Even if I am travelling around the world to different archviz events, I think that I know 90% of the people in attendance. I see them as my competitors, but also as inspiration and potential collaborators/partners, continues András.

Training Sessions from sponsors

One of the major and recurring contributions to the programme was Training Sessions. They gave the audience the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the latest software and functions and practical tools for their work and also gave them the chance to discuss different methods of working with them. Among other things, participants heard the latest news from Chaos Group and Epic Games.

Training Sessions is held by sponsors and the contributions very appreciated by both the participants and the presenters themselves.

The company Quixel, one of the sponsors, was represented among the exhibitors in the lobby, where the participants could go during breaks to get tips and ideas.  
- We are very big in the gaming and film industries. Archviz is an entirely new market for us, so we are really happy to be here today. We have been given the opportunity to tell about ourselves and our vision. We want the artists to be able to spend more time on artistry, says Tomas Henningson from Quixel.

- We are really happy about the participants' enthusiasm, the intimate feel and the enthusiasm about being about to speak with one another. All the work that we put into Visual Arena and the programme committee over the years has resulted in an attractive annual event with a high demand for tickets, concludes Åsa.