How We Won an Architectural Competition – Exterior Day Rendering (Vesterøya School) Full Course Breakdown + Key Takeaways Course Duration: 1.5 Hours Why This Course? This course gives you an unfiltered look into a real competition-winning school project developed for Vesterøya, Norway – in collaboration with HUS Architects and Skanska. You’ll follow the entire process from first client contact to final visualization. Along the way, I share real-world methods, workarounds, and business insights that you won’t find in software tutorials or AI videos. Learn what it actually takes to win architectural competitions today – including how to manage large 3D scenes, optimize rendering, and stay relevant in a shifting market. What You Will Learn & Why It Matters • How I structure real architectural projects and client communication • How I manage and optimize 3D workflows in competitions • Why AI is helpful, but not a shortcut – and where it fails • My strategies for lighting, storytelling, realism, and image depth • How to present your ideas in a high-pressure, competitive context Who Is This For? • Architects and students who want to improve their presentation workflow • ArchViz specialists working with competitions or concept visuals • Anyone interested in realistic 3ds Max, V-Ray, and Photoshop workflows • Professionals navigating a changing industry shaped by AI and budget pressure CPD, Certificates & Architecture Students This course is also highly relevant for **architecture students**, interns, and young professionals seeking to bridge the gap between academic theory and real-world practice. If you are documenting hours for CPD (Continuing Professional Development) or want to include the course in your academic learning portfolio, a **Certificate of Completion** is available. To obtain the certificate, you’ll be asked to submit a brief reflection, example image, or short description of your work based on the course. This is done by purchasing the **2-hour Email Consulting session**, which includes personal feedback and confirmation that you’ve followed and understood the course material: 👉 https://cadman.dk/email-consulting/ This ensures your certificate reflects real engagement and learning – not just passive viewing – and includes an estimate of study time (typically 12–20 hours depending on your depth of use).' Full Timestamp Breakdown Timestamps: 00:00 – Introduction to the course 00:30 – Project overview & Cadman’s role 06:52 – Visualization in architectural competition 11:00 – Client relationships: Architect, landscape, builder & ArchViz 17:08 – What was given to me – how I work & why 21:26 – The health of the architectural sector 23:52 – Workflow with landscape & building in 3D – control is everything 27:14 – AI in the real world 29:48 – Job market analysis & the role of AI 35:21 – Human experience: evaluation, decision & selection 38:11 – Workflow & setup secrets 41:58 – Why young architects are struggling 43:17 – View, composition & storytelling 50:04 – Lighting & rendering: real project vs AI 53:17 – UVW mapping, performance & plugins 59:39 – High-stakes multi-million dollar projects 1:00:15 – Rendering into Photoshop via plugin 1:01:07 – Full Photoshop setup for creative control 1:05:01 – Sky & lighting – more important than you think 1:07:42 – Render passes – and why they matter 1:12:06 – Geometry updates & region rendering 1:12:55 – Photoshop layer structure 1:14:38 – Textures for ArchViz 1:16:29 – Shadow control 1:16:42 – Context integration & realism 1:18:56 – Foreground textures & scale 1:20:34 – Landscape integration 1:22:34 – Detailing & resolution 1:23:11 – People integration 1:24:03 – Foliage & image depth 1:26:34 – The giraffe! 1:27:00 – Storytelling through people 1:27:51 – Z-depth & color corrections 1:29:43 – Rebooting your brain & reviewing work 1:31:08 – Outro & next steps About Your Instructor Your teacher is a trained architect and visualization expert with over 20 years of experience in the industry. After working at renowned Danish firms like 3XN and leading as Art Director at Tred/Cenario, he founded Cadman in 2009. He has worked on large-scale projects across Scandinavia and taught architectural visualization at The Royal Danish Academy (KADK). Background Admitted to both Danmarks Designskole and The Royal Danish Academy of Architecture in 1999. Began teaching presentation and graphics while still a student, and graduated as an architect in 2006. Professional experience includes: • Internship at Fogh & Følner Arkitekter • Full-time positions at leading firms including 3XN • Art Director at one of Denmark’s top ArchViz studios • Founder of Cadman.dk – a company specializing in architectural competition work and high-end visualization Final Thoughts This course is about more than beautiful images. It's about learning how to think, act, and deliver as a modern visual consultant in architecture. If you're serious about architectural storytelling, competition work, and working professionally with tools like 3ds Max, V-Ray, Photoshop, and AI – this is for you.