Passion project · Est. 1996 · World-building
The Architecture of an Imaginary City
A fictional island-state built from memory, sketched by hand in 1996, rebuilt in pixels over three decades. Architecture, urbanism, history, myth. None of it real. All of it serious.
Origins
This started in 1996, reconstructing buildings from memory and photographs. Then I moved to San Francisco. Walking that city opened a universe I've been sketching ever since. What began as drawing buildings that no longer existed became a fictional island-state with its own history, geography, architecture, and mythology. Three decades later it's still being built.
The evolution
1996 · First Sketch
It started as an exercise — reconstructing buildings that no longer existed using memory and photographs. On paper, with pencils, late at night. A habit that never stopped.
2000s · Going Digital
Moving to San Francisco changed everything. Walking the city opened a universe. The sketches became vectors — organic lines translated into precision geometry, without losing the feeling.
2010s · 3D & Concept Art
The city started to feel real. Three-dimensional space, rendered light, materiality and texture. Making Aureum a place you could almost visit — not just imagine.
2020s · AI Renders
AI tools unlocked views I could never produce alone — aerial perspectives, street-level detail, cinematic light at dawn. The city is bigger than it's ever been. It's still growing.
The city
Each district has its own character — its own history, architecture, and relationship to the water. Three decades of hand-drawn and rendered urbanism.
Full experience coming soon
"None of it real.
All of it serious."
Juan Martinez · on Aureum · Est. 1996