2 Things an Architecture Competition Taught Me About Renders

15/10/2026

This entire project was built using HP workstations powered by Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 processors and rendered in D5 Render.
Explore HP’s full range of workstations: https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/vwa/business-solutions/bizcat=Workstation?jumpid=ma_cpext_upst_25
Start using D5 for free: https://www.d5render.com/

And if you decide to upgrade to D5 Pro, you can use my links for a discount:
Annual plan: https://myspace.d5render.com/subscribe/year/?aff=upstairs
Monthly plan: https://myspace.d5render.com/subscribe/monthly/?aff=upstairs

~
How I made the renderings for a real architecture competition: 12 images and 4 A0 boards in D5 Render, with two weeks to go and zero images done. Camera and scene building, interior lighting, and the two tricks that changed how I build scenes.

LEARN D5 & ARCHVIZ: https://www.learnupstairs.com/courses/d5-render-visualizing-architecture
If you want to learn how to create visuals like the ones in this video, I cover the full workflow in my course, from D5 Render to Photoshop and final presentation.

THE BOARDS AND IMAGES: https://www.behance.net/gallery/257024367/New-Headquarters-for-the-Curitiba-City-Council
All four competition boards and the full image set in high resolution, so you can look at them with more time.

PROJECT LINKS
Competition results (Portuguese): https://www.bemparana.com.br/noticias/politica/conheca-o-projeto-vencedor-da-nova-sede-da-camara-municipal-de-curitiba/
Saboia+Ruiz Arquitetos: https://www.instagram.com/saboiaruizarquitetos/
Sarturi Gumz Arquitetos: https://www.instagram.com/sarturigumz/
Campo Viz: https://www.instagram.com/campo.viz

~
This video goes behind the scenes of the National Architecture Competition for the new headquarters of the Curitiba City Council (Câmara Municipal de Curitiba), in Brazil. I was invited by Saboia+Ruiz to handle all the visualization and visual communication, working alongside Sarturi Gumz and Campo Viz in a team of around a dozen people. The proposal kept and connected the existing annex buildings instead of demolishing them, and received an honorable mention.

All renderings were made in D5 Render, with the scene moving between the HP Z2 G1i in my studio and the HP ZBook Fury 16 G1i at the office, then finished in Photoshop and laid out on four A0 boards.

~
TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Two weeks left, not a single image
0:25 A real architecture competition (and how it ended)
1:44 Thanks HP, Intel and D5 for sponsoring this video!
2:13 Draft the boards before you render anything
3:37 What decides if a render works
4:13 Aspect ratio and focal length
4:53 Lighting with HDRIs and a second sun
5:57 Composition: foreground, contrast and hierarchy
6:36 Trick 1: The offset vanishing point
8:26 One file, from studio to office
9:11 The council chamber came out black
10:21 Trick 2: Light interiors like a film set
12:40 Three images from one room
13:56 Bonus: AI context buildings from Google Maps
14:29 The perspective section
15:43 The final competition boards
17:17 What a competition really is