sketches – translating visual thought

21 Aug sketches – translating visual thought

Real architectural drawings are not illustrations, but pure expression of architectural thinking.

 – Marco Frascari, architect and theorist

I think, learn and understand things visually – verbal descriptions get translated into visual descriptions in my mind … as someone is talking, my brain is seeing.  Sketching helps me to translate these flashes of imagery into a formal language, allowing me to communicate thoughts and ideas not only to myself (because often these visuals are not fully formed and need to be explored further), but also to my colleagues and ultimately to the client.

A sketch, by definition, is a two dimensional drawing that explores the essence of a concept or project; using line, color and sometimes texture.  Even in this digital age, the sketch remains a dominant form of communication for the Architect, and a fundamental necessity in design.  It is because of this quality that the sketch has become the iconic, sometimes mythical, trademark of the Architect – so much so, that Architectural Record honors it with a Cocktail Napkin Sketch Contest every year.  These napkin sketches link architecture with that idyllic Mad Men cocktail culture of the 60’s (where is Don Draper with my scotch on the rocks?!) – when the Architect’s (with a capital A) inspiration sprang forth instantaneously over drinks with the client.

Although I did not participate in the contest this year (procrastination unfortunately prevailed), I use sketching as a primary tool in my design, and will draw on anything to explain my ideas, cocktail napkins included.  My sketches range from the analytical, exploring the built environment that surrounds me (I never go anywhere without my sketchbook, I have a couple dozen to prove it…), to the inspirational, allowing the client to see the potential of their project.

Through sketch, I explore the form, the movement, the pattern, the transformation and the experience of the spaces I see in my mind- or as wew articulates in School vs. Practice “… the craziest, most outlandish architecture that we could find in the recesses of our brains”.  Bong, or no bong, the sketch always comes first.

[slideshow]

-hlj