perhaps by resort to archival sources or textbooks on easy for students to overlook drawing when other more construction.Thematic exploration through drawing aids fashionable or accessible tools,such as CAD and learning about the built environment-it helps you to see,photographic digitisation,are presented during the to think and to design. courses of study at undergraduate level.As this The book presents a general overview of drawing book argues,the power of drawing to get beneath the practice in the twenty-first century and the principles that surface encourages those who use the sketchbook to underpin it.The benefits of designing through drawing are confront the deeper forces at work in shaping discussed,particularly the way sketching allows options contemporary architecture.Architects were once noted to be explored conceptually and in detail-this interaction for their ability to visualise through drawing and this set across the scales is an important characteristic of them apart from engineers or technicians.In writing this drawing.Inevitably in the digital age,there is a great book the author seeks to revive the tradition of drawing- deal of interplay between freehand drawing and CAD,not as mere draughtsmanship or documentation,but as a especially at the genesis of a project.Different architects powerful tool in generating the built forms of the twenty- use drawing in different ways but for many,if not most, first century. architects freehand drawing is the first tool or medium used in designing a building. The professional bodies which underpin standards in architectural education in the UK,namely the Architects Registration Board(ARB)and the Royal Institute of British Architects(RIBA),recognise the importance of the facility to draw to that of becoming an architecture.Under the criteria for the prescription of architectural courses the term 'communication'is employed.It is used in the context of evolving and representing architectural design proposals,and embraces freehand drawing as well as CAD.Sketching remains an important aspect of being an architect,even in an age where information technology (IT)has to an increasing degree displaced traditional notions of architectural representation.Sketching remains important to designing and,equally,to understanding the physical,environmental and cultural context for arch- itectural practice today. In presenting new material in this edition,the author hopes to encourage greater use of the sketchbook and freehand drawing within architecture and design schools. The potential of investigating,learning and practising design through drawing is considerable.However,it is Introduction vii
perhaps by resort to archival sources or textbooks on construction. Thematic exploration through drawing aids learning about the built environment – it helps you to see, to think and to design. The book presents a general overview of drawing practice in the twenty-first century and the principles that underpin it. The benefits of designing through drawing are discussed, particularly the way sketching allows options to be explored conceptually and in detail – this interaction across the scales is an important characteristic of drawing. Inevitably in the digital age, there is a great deal of interplay between freehand drawing and CAD, especially at the genesis of a project. Different architects use drawing in different ways but for many, if not most, architects freehand drawing is the first tool or medium used in designing a building. The professional bodies which underpin standards in architectural education in the UK, namely the Architects Registration Board (ARB) and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), recognise the importance of the facility to draw to that of becoming an architecture. Under the criteria for the prescription of architectural courses the term ‘communication’ is employed. It is used in the context of evolving and representing architectural design proposals, and embraces freehand drawing as well as CAD. Sketching remains an important aspect of being an architect, even in an age where information technology (IT) has to an increasing degree displaced traditional notions of architectural representation. Sketching remains important to designing and, equally, to understanding the physical, environmental and cultural context for architectural practice today. In presenting new material in this edition, the author hopes to encourage greater use of the sketchbook and freehand drawing within architecture and design schools. The potential of investigating, learning and practising design through drawing is considerable. However, it is easy for students to overlook drawing when other more fashionable or accessible tools, such as CAD and photographic digitisation, are presented during the courses of study at undergraduate level. As this book argues, the power of drawing to get beneath the surface encourages those who use the sketchbook to confront the deeper forces at work in shaping contemporary architecture. Architects were once noted for their ability to visualise through drawing and this set them apart from engineers or technicians. In writing this book the author seeks to revive the tradition of drawing – not as mere draughtsmanship or documentation, but as a powerful tool in generating the built forms of the twentyfirst century. Introduction vii
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Chapter 1 The benefits of drawing The act of drawing is an important starting point for the studies and his commissions as an architect.Later intellectual process we call 'design'.To be able to draw architects such as Alvar Aalto,Le Corbusier and Louis a chair or a building is a prerequisite for anyone wishing Kahn employed the sketchbook in a similar fashion, to design such things.Drawing has two functions for though to different ends.Lord Foster (opposite)continues the designer -it allows him or her to record and to with this tradition. analyse existing examples,and the sketch provides the Drawings have been used by architects in many medium with which to test the appearance of some different ways.Ranging between the opposite poles of imagined object. the freehand drawing as a record and as a design tool Before the advent of photography most architects exist many different applications for the designer.Some kept a sketchbook in which they recorded the details of architects use the sketch as the main means of buildings,which they could refer to when designing.The communicating a design idea to clients.Such sketches fruits of the Grand Tour or more local wanderings relay the thinking behind a proposal as well as suggesting consisted of drawn material supported,perhaps,by a tangible form.Other architects use the sketch to written information or surveyed dimensions. analyse townscape and to indicate how their design will The sketchbook provided a form of research and a fit into the street.Others use the sketch as a method of library of plans and details to crib at a later stage.Because studying building typology,using the analysis as a way of the architect is not necessarily aiming only at placing their design into known precedents.However the documentary representation,the sketches were often sketch is employed,the main point is to use the freehand searching and analytical.Many of the drawings prepared drawing as a design tool,as a method of giving form and found their way into later designs.The English architect expression to one's thoughts.One may finish the design C.R.Cockerell used pocket-sized sketchbooks and filled process with a formal perspective,but that end product them with drawings not only of sites in Italy and Greece,should not be where sketching begins.Design analysis but also of cities in Britain.His sketchbooks,which through the freehand drawing should be at the start of the survive at the Royal Institute of British Architects(RIBA),creative process,not at the end,and preferably before the show that a direct link existed between Cockerell's field design commission arrives in the first place.The The benefits of drawing 1
Chapter 1 The benefits of drawing The act of drawing is an important starting point for the intellectual process we call ‘design’. To be able to draw a chair or a building is a prerequisite for anyone wishing to design such things. Drawing has two functions for the designer – it allows him or her to record and to analyse existing examples, and the sketch provides the medium with which to test the appearance of some imagined object. Before the advent of photography most architects kept a sketchbook in which they recorded the details of buildings, which they could refer to when designing. The fruits of the Grand Tour or more local wanderings consisted of drawn material supported, perhaps, by written information or surveyed dimensions. The sketchbook provided a form of research and a library of plans and details to crib at a later stage. Because the architect is not necessarily aiming only at documentary representation, the sketches were often searching and analytical. Many of the drawings prepared found their way into later designs. The English architect C.R. Cockerell used pocket-sized sketchbooks and filled them with drawings not only of sites in Italy and Greece, but also of cities in Britain. His sketchbooks, which survive at the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), show that a direct link existed between Cockerell’s field studies and his commissions as an architect. Later architects such as Alvar Aalto, Le Corbusier and Louis Kahn employed the sketchbook in a similar fashion, though to different ends. Lord Foster (opposite) continues with this tradition. Drawings have been used by architects in many different ways. Ranging between the opposite poles of the freehand drawing as a record and as a design tool exist many different applications for the designer. Some architects use the sketch as the main means of communicating a design idea to clients. Such sketches relay the thinking behind a proposal as well as suggesting a tangible form. Other architects use the sketch to analyse townscape and to indicate how their design will fit into the street. Others use the sketch as a method of studying building typology, using the analysis as a way of placing their design into known precedents. However the sketch is employed, the main point is to use the freehand drawing as a design tool, as a method of giving form and expression to one’s thoughts. One may finish the design process with a formal perspective, but that end product should not be where sketching begins. Design analysis through the freehand drawing should be at the start of the creative process, not at the end, and preferably before the design commission arrives in the first place. The The benefits of drawing 1
11 This sketch (dated 1862)by Richard Norman Shaw of Bfnoul.tu. Bidborough in Kent shows his interest in vernacular buildings. It is no surprise to find Shaw designing new buildings in similar spirit at the time.(RIBA Drawings Collection) 1.2 This drawing of a new circular tenement built in Glasgow in 1990 highlights the pattern of windows and shows how the stairways have been used to 1日1日 articulate the design.The sketch seeks to explain the basic R日日 geometry of the circular tenement.By eliminating all detail the proportions have become clearer,and what is not evident in the sketch has been highlighted in the notes. 2 Understanding architecture through drawing
1.1 This sketch (dated 1862) by Richard Norman Shaw of Bidborough in Kent shows his interest in vernacular buildings. It is no surprise to find Shaw designing new buildings in similar spirit at the time. (RIBA Drawings Collection) 1.2 This drawing of a new circular tenement built in Glasgow in 1990 highlights the pattern of windows and shows how the stairways have been used to articulate the design. The sketch seeks to explain the basic geometry of the circular tenement. By eliminating all detail the proportions have become clearer, and what is not evident in the sketch has been highlighted in the notes. 2 Understanding architecture through drawing
13 The sculptural massing is evident in this disused colliery at Chislet in Kent. sketchbook is a personal library;it needs to be built up so Sketching and freehand drawing have for too long that it can become a basis for later,undreamt of,designs.been seen as the point of entry into painting,as against Many architects'drawings leave out a great deal of the essential starting point for design.Art colleges have, detail.Whether a sketch is of a design proposal or an of course,always maintained a sketchbook tradition existing reality,the element of removal or abstraction is among artists and designers alike,but in sixth-form one of the characteristics of such drawings.It is better to colleges,and even schools of architecture,the capture the essence rather than seek an exhaustive sketchbook has been usurped by the computer simulation realism.Designers need to know what to leave or verbal description. suggested rather than explicitly recorded.The principles What this book seeks to revive is the sketch and and truth that such drawings seek to communicate can be analytical drawing as means of understanding form and hidden by too much detail or graphic bombardment.A construction.Only through the study of existing examples good drawing is one that leaves room for imaginative -not laboriously drawn but critically examined-can we interpretation.These principles apply equally to a page in cultivate a nation of people sensitive to design and its the sketchbook or a drawing prepared to highlight a application to our everyday environment.This willingness design proposal. to learn from past examples should apply across the The benefits of drawing 3
sketchbook is a personal library; it needs to be built up so that it can become a basis for later, undreamt of, designs. Many architects’ drawings leave out a great deal of detail. Whether a sketch is of a design proposal or an existing reality, the element of removal or abstraction is one of the characteristics of such drawings. It is better to capture the essence rather than seek an exhaustive realism. Designers need to know what to leave suggested rather than explicitly recorded. The principles and truth that such drawings seek to communicate can be hidden by too much detail or graphic bombardment. A good drawing is one that leaves room for imaginative interpretation. These principles apply equally to a page in the sketchbook or a drawing prepared to highlight a design proposal. Sketching and freehand drawing have for too long been seen as the point of entry into painting, as against the essential starting point for design. Art colleges have, of course, always maintained a sketchbook tradition among artists and designers alike, but in sixth-form colleges, and even schools of architecture, the sketchbook has been usurped by the computer simulation or verbal description. What this book seeks to revive is the sketch and analytical drawing as means of understanding form and construction. Only through the study of existing examples – not laboriously drawn but critically examined – can we cultivate a nation of people sensitive to design and its application to our everyday environment. This willingness to learn from past examples should apply across the 1.3 The sculptural massing is evident in this disused colliery at Chislet in Kent. The benefits of drawing 3