Architizer Announces 2025 Vision Awards

Architizer announced the winners of its 13th Annual Vision Awards, recognizing RDG’s KANEKO Rammed Earth Sculpture Garden as a Finalist in the Vision for Materials category. The awards, intended to empower designers, thinkers and creators to explore the power of architectural concepts as a tool for innovation, celebrate those who tell powerful, provocative stories about architecture through their preferred creative medium.

The Rammed Earth Sculpture Park is the result of RDG’s ongoing partnership with KANEKO’s annual creative summer camp program for young learners. These camps offer immersive sessions in architecture and design, cartooning, the art and science of scent, mindful crafting and STEAM, all aimed at showing how the creativity of art intersects with science, technology, engineering and mathematics to solve problems. During each camp, students discover and expand their creative capacities through various individual and team projects. 

The camp’s 2024 theme, inspired by John Clement’s exhibition that same year, explored the human relationship with nature. Campers learned about a technique called rammed earth, where dirt and clay are compacted to build walls and structures, as well as the eight basic design principles to create their own landscape sculpture park. 

Through the workshop, students explored the intersection of design and biogenic construction, building scaled rammed earth walls with locally sourced soil. The hands-on experience offered insight into sustainable building methods and opened dialogue around the environmental impacts of fossil fuel dependence and synthetic materials. The project presents an optimistic view of regenerative design, encouraging emerging Midwest designers to rethink construction through the lens of natural, resilient materials.

The Vision Awards is a global awards program, with less than 15% of entries typically chosen for recognition. Its jury comprises architects, designers, technologists and storytellers who bring diverse perspectives and are recognized for their ability to translate bold ideas into spaces, visuals and experiences that resonate today and push design forward.

View the complete list of Architizer’s 2025 Vision Award winners and finalists here.