1 Like Realy wasn't planning to join for time reasons but the competition is to cool! Count me in for a project in Unity
@WVanspranghe That is great! Looking forward to see how @unity3d is being used for archviz ;)
The 3rd Architectural Visualization Challenge Begins
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The long-awaited architectural visualization challenge No. 03 is here at last boasting a brand new website with an exciting and challenging theme – CityLIFE! This time you are tasked to explore one of the most complex and vast subject matter in Architectural Visualization, our urban way of living. Visit the new challenges main site to get started with your journey on this one. You will find all the challenge related information over there and keep on reading here to find out more about that site, how it came to be and and introduction to using it.
New Challenge Site
With CityLIFE I’m also launching the new Challenge Sites. This was a long project in the making that really took shape in the past few months much more rapidly. The first week of the challenge will be dedicated to getting to know the system and me helping you out as much as I can should you have any questions related to it.
The core functionality of the new site is the Grid Flow – the continuous display of visual content in masonry bricks / grid format (featuring images posted on the blog as an example).
The Grid Flow Main View
Running a community forum in such a highly visual field as architectural visualization, really called for a much more visual way of showcasing your content then the traditional forum system that is now in place. The challenges will be the first section to transition into the new site system and while I’m sure we are going to have some growing pains it will all be for the best.
The current site is only the first version of it, inspired by the image navigation you can find in Google’s image search, Pinterest and other similar services were the focus on visual bits of information is key.
The Challenge Main Hub
Below you can see the Challenge Main Grid Flow, were you will find all current and past challenges with a filtering system that can help you navigate in ease among them all. This filtering system is tailored to the specific challenge site you are in and most of the times will be related to milestones and theme related topics, so you can focus on the things you like at any given time.
Create Your Own Account
In order to take part and add content to the challenge site you will have to create an account. This account will allow you to take part in all the challenges taking place in the new system.
Other then the main Grid Flow view, you will find two more special views. The Challengers View (Authors View) and Weekly Progress View.
The Challengers Page
In this view you will be able to see the latest challenge milestones posted to the site sorted by their authors, with the most recent published author at the top. This page is set to show only the last 9 milestone by any given author.
You can also navigate into the authors private pages were you can see all of his milestones in the Grid Flow format.
The Weekly Progress Page
This page groups all the milestones according to week of being published. This can give you a much more focused overview of what is going on in the challenge and help you recall or find information easier.
The Backend of the Challenge Sites
I did not mention anything about the actual backend admin of this new site, the place were you add milestones and upload images and more. Information about that will be posted as part of the main challenge site with links to help files and videos to make it easy for you to jump right in and focus on your creative work.
CityLIFE Sponsors
Procedural, Twinmotion, DesignConnected, Chaosgroup, VBvisual, E-On Software, RenderNation, RenderStream, CGAxis, Exlevel, LAUBlab, XFrog, Next Limit, model+model, iToo Software, Wacom, VizPeople, ATI, ArtVPS, Solid Iris Technologies, MotivaCG, 3DMentor.
CityLIFE Press Resource & Promotion Files
Please use the files in the folder below for promotion and publication of CityLIFE via your own channels.
59 comments
1 Like 
1 Like Hi Ronen,
First of all: your new site is beautiful, I really like the way everything is posted on the same page so you can follow everyone's progress at the same time => this is just perfect for this type of challenge.
But: It's a little confusing on how to get your post on the grid-board. I'm trying to post my first concept and ideas but they are not publishing, maybe because they are not published directly? Another little thing: When we sign up for the challenge we just need to register on the challenge site to be counted in as challenger? Because when I go to the challengers page, I can't see my name.
Thanks for your help and for this challenge.
@dbalex Thanks for the positive feedback. Much appreciated! The posts aren't being published right away - I'm making sure each one is ok technically and then make it public. This is just for the first week or two as we all get to know the system.
The Challengers Page only shows you if a post of yours has been made public... so just a little bit more patience ;)
@ronenbekerman haha ok, sorry for the trouble then, I think I'm getting impatient like a little child..
1 Like Great stuff, I'm in. A good pretext to force me to do a piece I had in mind for some time.
Another sipirit :):) Welcome bernard.I am glad to see u in this challenge.There are lots of things I can learn from you.
1 Like Stunning work you have done with this challenge Ronen :-) It's gonna be very interesting to see the outcome of this - Good luck to all :-)
4 Like We will struggle, we will create and prepare very good concepts we will get really good renders, then benjamin brosdau will show up and collect all the prizes, Does it worth it? Yes it does...
1 Like @Tolgahan Hey Tolga, guess what? You don't have to worry about Benjamin competing...
However...
You do need to worry about him being on the Jury!!!
Benjamin Brosdau, Technical Director at Purerender and HOVER Grand Prize Winner joins the CityLIFE Jury Panel. It is a great honor to have Benjamin on-board and I'm sure will be of great value in the judging stage.
1 Like @ronenbekerman@Tolgahan Congrats to Benjamin on being on the jury.
Now Ronen, I've got a list of about 7 or 8 more people I'd like to see on that jury. ;)
1 Like Be quiet....We should not mention his name more than 3 times imo.Maybe he probably miss this challenge :) :)
1 Like Hey Ronen. Congratulations on the new website and the challenge!
I have a question for you: Does the contest requires modern cities? What about fantasy, medieval or scifi cities? I think it opens very nice possibilities to make great stuff.
People are having a little trouble understanding what you mean in the scope, as an architecture student Its very nice to see you adressing these kinds of issues I have only thought about.
Architecture and visualization should always be about context. But sometimes we ignore it due to market demands.
Who in here never had a viz client order you to take the neigboring buldings and replace it with green to "show it better". =)
@Elrinion Happens all the time... but form a marketing stand point, you might understand why ;)
Anyway... You can read my reply to @ImnotPOTUS and i'll add here that you can go modern, medieval, fantasy or Sci-Fi and the scope is totally up to you.
You can go for a grand exterior approach or city through the window kind of thing... The Discovery Channel aired the new film THE RISING about rebuilding ground zero now that 10 years have past since that day. dbox were doing some work in this project and you should check the promo where they show workers on a high beam walking as the city changes below them.
2 Like I am a little hazy on the judgement criteria. Is the winner of the contest presenting the best "city" the judges want to "live in" year round or is the winner presenting the best looking city the judges have seen in any season.
Is the intent of the contest to spend 3 months developing the best concept of a "utopian" city to live in or is it to spend 3 months making a 3D "place" that looks good covered in snow or leaves.
The examples you gave on the instruction page lead me to think that it is more important for the "city" to be great to look "upon" rather than a great place to "live" in.
@ImnotPOTUS Just to make one more point clear... Spend how much time you like to develop the concept - but remember you must also execute that design in 3d and as best as possible.
@ImnotPOTUS Let me try and make this more clear...
The entries will be judged according to overall accepted standards of architectural visualization: composition; 3d modeling; lighting; materials and textures, concept (original approach), addressing the architectural interpretation of the city, technical skill, emotive value and participation in WIP threads.
The winner can create a bad or good city - Cities come in all forms, shapes and sizes.
You can go for a Utopian city...
like Atlantis or follow the guidelines set by the 20th modernist architect Le Corbusier’s in his Ville Radieuse – the Radiant City (1927) or an example that was realised by Oscar Neimeyer in the form of Brasilia.
Or a Dystopian interpretation, this one is most favorite in movies it seems...
like we have seen in many movies such as 1984, Metropolis, Blade Runner, Equilibrium, Aeon Flux, Gattaca, Akira, Soylent Green, RoboCop, Judge Dredd, Batmen, The Matrix, Resident Evil, District 13, District 9...
I can go on and on, but here is a top 50 list for you - http://snarkerati.com/movie-news/the-top-50-dystopian-movies-of-all-time/
Don't take the example on the instructions page as the sole one for this... It was just a small teaser to make the point of what happens when you focus on the macro context instead of micro detailing.
I'll make an inspiration page with more examples that can help spark ideas in your mind!
Remember that the design is just one parameter of the final judgment. In HOVER the best design entry won 2nd place, not first...
@ronenbekerman I still haven't received the confirmation email after the registration.. Is it normal this delay?
@ronenbekerman I'm sending you an email, because nothing arrived to me.. I also tried the "forgot my password", but no email arrives..
@toni fresnedo@Giona4 Looking into this... You should get an email with password, try the spam folder maybe it got in there. anyway I see you in the system so this is ok - I'll try to resend the password manually.
@toni fresnedo@Giona4 Hi, you should be getting a password reset email - let me know if you got it. In any case you can try the login and use the forgot password option to this too.
1 Like congrats ronen for the site! I really like it... implementing wordpress to this is a great idea, good luck to everyone! you can be sure I will be participating in this competition ;-)
@Tolgahan Hi Tolga... I think this challenge will fit you perfectly ;) Can't wait to see some of your initial concept drawings!
Thank you very much for the positive feedback... been working on this one way to long so its nice to finally know what you think about it.
1 Like Wow! What a great news! I can't wait to start this competition..
The new Challenge site is really cool. Good work Ronen!
Cheers :)
1 Like Wow, so much new stuff to be excited about here. It's that warm feeling you get when the next version of your software of choice comes out, except this is free. The Challenge page looks amazing visually. You've definitely taken things to the next level here Ronen.
@brodiegeers Thanks Brodie, can't wait to see the Grid Flow filling up with milestones ;)
1 Like Fantastic job for this challenge Ronen, great challenge page, I think it will be a great experience, this challenge !
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[...] While that one has come to a close, Ronen Bekerman has announced his new one – City Life challenge. Get all the details on his site here. [...]
[...] – Architectural Visualization Challenge by Ronen Bekerman Hey All, CityLIFE Started! Visit the Announcement Blog Post & Challenge Site to get the full details and join in CityLIFE Duration September 15, 2011 : [...]