How we Won an Architectural Competition – Aerial Rendering (Vesterøya School)

Length: 1h 25min
Course Type: Real-World Case Study
Instructor: Cadman (architect & visualisation specialist with 20+ years of experience)

Course Overview
This advanced course is based on a real competition-winning school project, developed together with HUS Architects and Skanska – one of Scandinavia’s largest contractors. It focuses entirely on aerial rendering, which is arguably the most demanding discipline in architectural visualization.

You’ll learn why aerials are so difficult to get right – and exactly how to succeed. From complex terrain modeling, accurate camera matching, and massive 3D optimization, to creative Photoshop work, storytelling, and visual strategy, the course breaks down every key step. You’ll also learn how to turn winter drone photos into convincing summer visuals and navigate real-world client demands.

This is not a generic rendering tutorial. It’s a deep, real-world course that shows how architecture, landscape, and visual storytelling come together in actual projects – with all the challenges and decisions that involves.

Who It’s For
• Architects working with competitions, master plans or large projects
• Students who want to understand the real demands of architectural work
• Visualization professionals aiming to push their technical and narrative skills
• Teams and firms looking to improve their competition workflows and output

CPD, Certificates & Architecture Students
This course is ideal for architecture students, interns, and young professionals bridging the gap between school and practice.
If you're logging CPD hours or want a Certificate of Completion, this is available through my 2-hour Email Consulting service:
👉 https://cadman.dk/email-consulting/
You’ll submit a short reflection or visual based on the course, and receive personal feedback plus documentation of your engagement (typically 12–20 hours of study).

What You Will Learn & Why It Matters
• Everything you don’t learn in architecture school: working with real clients, handling deadlines, refining designs under pressure, and presenting to decision-makers
• Why aerials are the hardest visualizations – and how to get them right
• How to optimize 3ds Max and V-Ray for heavy site-based rendering
• How to prepare and enhance drone photos (season, light, composition)
• Accurate camera matching, height data, and geo-integration techniques
• How storytelling shapes architectural presentation and jury perception
• Advanced Photoshop build-up using real-world workflows and pass integration
• Real discussions about deadlines, expectations, and collaboration in competitions
• Why AI is not the problem (or solution) – and what actually matters

Timestamps (Full Course – 1h 25min)
00:00 – Introduction to aerial visualization
00:30 – One project, many stories
01:48 – Why aerial visualizations are hard to get right
02:23 – Merging architecture and landscape design
03:41 – Model optimization – the key to creativity
05:00 – Turning winter drone photos into summer
05:49 – Why accurate camera matching is everything
06:11 – Working with height maps in complex landscapes
06:52 – Importing and exporting workflow and geometry quality
08:22 – AI in (actual) architectural rendering
09:00 – Render passes in aerial rendering
09:27 – What most don’t understand about aerial rendering
10:15 – Photoshop breakdown – what, how & why
10:33 – Overarching goal of the course
10:41 – 3D model setup & optimization – the holy grail of aerial rendering
13:52 – Detailing the landscape plan in 3D – a huge job: problems and solutions
15:10 – What resources go into an (actual) aerial render – an honest discussion
17:26 – Optimize the export/import process – or ruin the project
18:52 – Most landscape architects don’t know anything about this (and I don’t know why)
19:20 – Prepare or fail
19:46 – Working with landscape architects to build their dream in 3D (not always easy)
21:00 – Procedural or bitmap mapping
21:48 – Why using V-Ray Proxies is a must!
23:20 – Cannot afford to fail – preparation & professionalism is everything
27:03 – Project manager – asset management in large projects
30:29 – Meeting expectations (in an AI-concerned world)
34:01 – The age of CAD... sorry, AI... oh no, actually CAD (still)
36:43 – Not even FOMO – just fear of AI (a realistic job discussion)
38:11 – AI is not the decision maker nor the user of the building or the investor
38:41 – The eye of Sauro... oh Cadman!
39:23 – 2 + 2 = Architecture
40:12 – AI’s role in architecture in the future
41:25 – The real job problem in architecture
43:23 – Preparing the 3D model for rendering
44:14 – Working with height maps in landscaping – fast, fluent and creative
52:30 – Render passes in aerial rendering with matte objects and V-Ray
59:16 – Camera matching in aerials
1:02:04 – Where you can find other relevant resources
1:02:57 – Build-up in Photoshop – RGB render integration in drone photo
1:06:28 – Landscape recreation over winter drone photo
1:06:56 – Texture enhancing in Photoshop
1:07:29 – Image format, resolution, and image usage
1:08:31 – Handling the Photoshop file IRL
1:09:59 – The essence of my video courses
1:10:17 – Why the architect is resilient in an AI (hyped) world
1:11:02 – Detailing the aerial picture
1:11:35 – Transforming a winter drone photo into summer
1:14:22 – Z-depth and lens flare effects in aerials
1:15:05 – Humans in aerials
1:15:59 – Brushing in birds (squick, squick)
1:16:08 – Adjustments
1:16:37 – Final thoughts & process conclusion
1:18:49 – Why we won (in my opinion)
1:20:02 – The idea behind my project courses
1:21:19 – We go deep and discuss the broader perspectives
1:22:39 – The future
1:23:09 – Thanks!

About Your Instructor
Your teacher is a trained architect and visualization expert with 20+ years of experience. He worked at 3XN, served as Art Director at Tred/Cenario, and founded Cadman in 2009. He’s collaborated with clients like HUS Arkitekter, Skanska, and major public developers – and taught visualization at The Royal Danish Academy (KADK).

Final Thoughts
This course shows what it actually takes to win competitions – not just decorate them. With full transparency and no shortcuts, it guides you through a process where architecture, storytelling, and visual strategy all matter. If you want to sharpen your skills and see how real competition-winning work is done – this is it.