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There’s a long tradition of great architects never building a single thing. They’re called paper architects, because their work is purely 2D. But today, you might look for them working somewhere else: video game design and 3D visualization.

An architectural visualization artist named Ronen Bekerman has been at the center of that shift. Bekerman runs a popular blog that has becoming a clearinghouse for visualization work, whether for video games or actual architecture. “The gaming world, much like film, offers architects to be dreamers and get those dreams done without limits,” Bekerman told me recently, pointing to people like Joseph Kosinski, an architect by training who now directs films like Tron. “I can see how this will attract more architects and architectural visualizers into the gaming world, leveraging their design skills in the process.”

After all, there’s less and less of a difference. Virtual reality, along with traditional video games, are getting far more photorealistic and detailed when it comes to scene-setting. Architects rely much more heavily on beautiful renderings that evoke emotions and a storyline to sell their designs. These two traditionally separate fields are finding a lot in common.

Bekerman’s online hub, where he features work by designers, forums, tutorials, and competitions, is a great example of that melding of worlds. He also runs annual challenges where he asks readers to create a digital space using a particular software or engine. […]