Spectral visions that dissolve temporal and spatial boundaries between humans and their world
© Nic Clear & Hyun Jun Park I The Ghost. Composite 3D laser scan; 3000 mm x 750mm.
Since 2013, the RIBA Journal has celebrated the evocative power of architectural drawing with Eye Line, an international competition that highlights the most refined visual representation skills in the field of architecture. Open to both students and professionals, the initiative is not merely a technical contest but a true poetic exploration of architectural thought. The free-to-enter competition welcomes works produced in any two-dimensional medium: hand sketches, digital drawings, watercolours, collages, and even AI-assisted works (as long as they are clearly stated). The aim is singular: to communicate an architectural idea with strength, originality, and beauty — whether the subject is real or imaginary. Each participant may submit up to three images, even from different projects. The winning entries are published in the summer issue of RIBAJ and often showcased in a dedicated exhibition at RIBA’s London headquarters. Over the years, Eye Line has honoured works ranging from meticulous technical drawings to the most dreamlike visual storytelling. Judges — comprising architects, artists, and critics — assess not only graphic quality but also the artwork’s capacity to convey emotion, concept, and vision.
In a compelling fusion of digital art and architectural poetry, an academic duo of Nic Clear and Hyun Jun Park took first place in the 2025 edition — Professional Category — with a project that enchanted the jury through its visual intensity and conceptual depth. Their creations, derived from 3D scan data, appear to emerge from a cinematic universe suspended between reality and dream. Among the entries, The Ghost stands out as a black-and-white collage with an academic tone, resembling a radiographic imprint of memory. In contrast, The WavEs — a series of images inspired by Virginia Woolf’s garden and writing lodge — is considered a deeply emotional journey. Its ethereal renderings evoke the inner paths of Woolf’s characters, tracing imaginary lines across time and space. The result is an immersive experience: a refined interplay of technique, literary allusion, and artistic sensibility that transforms architectural drawing into a visual exploration of memory. A composition that seems to come alive the more one looks into it.
© Nic Clear & Hyun Jun Park I The WavEs. Composite 3D laser scan; 1210mm x 610mm.