The 2023 Conference Look Back - Six Events That Mattered

At Pulze, we love to travel, learn, share, and have fun. Visiting conferences perfectly encapsulates these activities. In 2023, we attended numerous exciting events across architectural visualization and other CG industry events and thought it would be a good idea to provide a recap of standout archviz conferences. This might introduce you to something new or help you decide which event to attend next year.

TL;DR

This recap covers Pulze’s 2023 visits to standout archviz and cg events: Inbetweenness Festival, 3D London, EUE Re-Connect, D2, Autodesk University, and 3DSymposium. Key themes were community networking, technical deep dives, and lively discussions around AI, with formats ranging from intimate pub meetups to massive multi-track conferences. Our notes highlight each event’s vibe, focus, and who it suits to help you decide where to go next year.

Inbetweenness Festival

February 23-25 - Aveiro, Portugal

Website: https://weareinbetweenness.com/

Instagram: @weareinbetweenness

To escape the long and grey winter, we began the year in Portugal and attended the Inbetweenness Festival at the end of February. The festival was an opportunity to discuss architectural visualization and soak up some sunlight.

The event showcased a stellar lineup, including prominent large studios and fresh faces as well. There were numerous discussions and presentations about AI. We also heard interesting life stories, project breakdowns, and discovered new techniques.

One of the highlights of Inbetweenness was that the talks started later in the afternoon, allowing everyone time to explore the city or the ocean. We're eagerly anticipating the 2024 edition!

3D London

First Wednesday of each month - Truckles, London

Website: https://www.meetup.com/3dlondon/

Instagram: @3dlondon

From sunny Portugal, we moved to our next stop, London. Here, we visited 3DLondon, the oldest and most active 3D meetup. It serves as a hub for professionals in London's advertising, architecture, visual effects, gaming, animation, and interactive industries.

The event takes place in a pub in central London on the first Wednesday of each month. It follows a simple format: brief talks, drinks, and a diverse audience from various studios.

If you happen to be in London at that time, I would definitely recommend checking it out.

EUE Connect

June 22-23 - Utrecht, Netherlands

Website: https://eue-reconnect.com/

Facebook: @EUEConnect

In June, we attended our absolute favorite event of the year, the End User Event. You might know it as EUE Connect, but nowadays it's called EUE Re-Connect. This event is held in the scenic city of Utrecht, inside a pub.

We began attending EUE in 2015 and immediately fell in love with its unique vibe. Over the years, it has become the top destination for individuals interested in 3D, development, and technical aspects. Currently, it is an invite-only event with carefully curated talks. A "no recording / no photos" rule is in place, which may allow studios or developers to share insights and projects that would not be possible otherwise.

In addition to sponsoring the event this year, we were invited to discuss Pulze's early development challenges, which was an absolute honor to present in front of this audience.

If you like the technical side of 3D, this is definitely the place to go.

D2

25-26 August - Vienna, Austria

Website: https://vienna.d2conferences.com/

Instagram: @d2conferences

August is typically marked by the D2 conference in Vienna, which has emerged as one of the premier archviz conferences. This year was the 10th anniversary, a huge milestone. The lineup of speakers definitely lived up to expectations.

Beyond the insightful talks, the networking opportunities over a few beers were likely the best part. What I personally appreciate about D2 is not only the chance to meet industry friends, but also the fresh perspectives brought by invitees outside the archviz scene. This provides a unique opportunity and inspiration to explore different types of workflows and projects.

If you haven't been to D2 or any archviz-related conference, I would definitely recommend going next year.

Autodesk University

Nov 13-15 - Las Vegas, USA

Website: https://www.autodesk.com/autodesk-university/

Instagram: @autodeskuniversity

The Autodesk University conference, Autodesk's largest annual event, was held in Las Vegas this year, and it stands out among major CG industry events. Professionals from architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing and media industries attend the conference to learn about the latest trends, technologies, and innovations in design and digital content creation.

Over the course of three days, there were more than 10,000 attendees and approximately 600 sessions. AU is indeed massive, unlike anything I've seen before.

In a conference of this size, Archviz and 3ds Max may seem minor, but there were still some intriguing discussions. Plus, it's a great opportunity to learn about other industries and Autodesk's direction.

If you missed it, you can review all the talks here.

3DSymposium

Dec 2 - Barcelona, Spain

Website: https://www.the3dsymposium.com/

Instagram: @3dsymposium

We concluded the year in Barcelona at the 3DSymposium conference. The event took place at MACBA, an inspiring location for architecture enthusiasts and the architectural visualization community. This one-day event featured great speakers from CommonPoint, Eleven, Brick Visual, Helio, Visualhouse, Prompt, and Pureblink.

Our Product Designer Mihály also had the opportunity to discuss Project Dream and share his thoughts on AI. This was our first time attending the 3DSymposium and we thoroughly enjoyed connecting with our Spanish users and friends. We'll definitely return if given the chance!