Third Place Winner
Recycle Wonderland
Design by
Yuxin MA
The rendered image is a strong representation of the design concept, showcasing technical skill and creativity while effectively conveying the project's narrative and objectives.
Yuxin MA
Yuxin Ma, also known as Candice. Currently pursuing a master's degree in MArch Architecture (RIBA Part 2) at Manchester School of Architecture (MSA), she completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Nottingham Ningbo China.
Yuxin is particularly attentive to the relationship between architecture and the cultural and historical context of sites. While this project marks her initial foray into using architecture to address environmental and social issues, she firmly believes that architecture and its context are inherently intertwined.
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Winner’s Spotlight: An Exclusive Interview
Discover the story behind the victory — from concept to creation.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background in architecture or related fields?
Hi everyone. I’m Yuxin Ma and you can call me Candice. I'm currently doing my master degree in MArch Archiecture (RIBA Part2) at Manchester School of Architecture (MSA), and I completed my undergraduate studies at University of Nottingham Ningbo China.
I am highly sensitive to the relationship between architecture and culture/history of the sites, but this project is my first attempt to express my desire to use architecture to “solve” environmental and social problems. Either way, I firmly believe that architecture and site are inseparable.
What rendering techniques and styles did you employ to create your architectural rendered image?
My rendering method and style is almost “Collage”. After completing the modelling task, only line drawing and shadow channel are exported using the modelling software (Rhino) and rendering software (Vray). All of the textures and materials are added by Photoshop.
How do you plan to ensure that viewers have a memorable and emotionally impactful experience through your rendered image?
I think drawings with a unique personal style will leave a deep impression on the viewers. From my personal experience, I would not be surprised if the drawing I have seen similar styles or has strong traces of imitation.
What were some of the major challenges you encountered during the rendering process, and how did you overcome them?
I think the biggest challenge is that it takes a lot of time and work to complete such a drawing. As I insisted on adding all the materials and textures in Photoshop rather than rendering, it resulted that each item's texture could not be copied due to the different orientation of them. Therefore, every object even the very small ones took me so much time to complete.
How do you believe your rendered image contributes to enhancing understanding of rendering techniques in architectural design?
I think there are more and more quick and easy rendering softwares and even AI can help us with rendering now. However, the more "backward" ways of rendering, such as Photoshop or hand-drawing, are more subtle and could show our personal styles better.
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