Why do Architects draw?
Most of us grow up surrounded by architecture. If we’re lucky, we get our own bedroom to feel safe in and explore the world from. We share an apartment or a house with our family. We get educated in buildings specifically designed for that purpose. We get our health exams and dental fillings in spaces made just for that. We step outside and walk the streets, right next to the apartment buildings, movie theaters and grocery stores. Architecture is there the whole time.
And some of us become fascinated with the built environment. I am one of those people you see stop in the middle of the street to look up at the particularly interesting detail above a window. Or maybe studying the exposed structure of a bridge, trying to understand how it works. It’s something that really catches my attention.
A street view in Avalon, on the island of Catalina
I draw architecture every time I go on a trip. I particularly love old buildings, because they are often full of character and detail. I like finding a good angle and figuring out the composition on paper that will have a satisfying balance of shapes. There are times when I am absorbed in straight observation, just studying what I see in front of me – and then there is a different process, when I put on my Editor-Architect hat and leave things out.
Berlin Dom
When you take a photo of a building, you are probably briefly excited about it and you may even look at that photo later or share it with a friend. When you take the time to sketch a building, you experience it in a deeper way, notice details and learn how it was put together. Often, when I look at my travel sketches, I remember the sounds and smells that accompanied those minutes I spent next to architecture. Like one June morning in New York, when I stood next to a stream of people hurrying to work and sketched the Chrysler building.
Sketching the Chrysler building view on a busy morning in New York City
I like looking at the 3-dimensional shape of a building that has already been built and placed in its context and interpreting it into a simplified 2-dimensional arrangement of shapes and colors. I think it plays a role in how I both perceive the world around me and respond to it.
Pioneer Square in Seattle, Washington
Drawing is a communication tool. Architects have vivid imaginations and, during the design process, must translate that creativity into something that can be understood by others. What better way to do that than through sketching?
As we observe the built environment and follow the edges, shapes and volumes around us, we also build our visual architecture vocabulary. Nothing gets created in vacuum – the detail you notice walking down the street may be interpreted to provide the perfect solution to your design problem.
