Drawing as part of the design process
Ken Shuttleworth is well known in the industry as a quick and able draughtsman. He founded Make as an employee-owned organisation, and as a result there’s a collegiate approach to everything we do, including drawing. Ken often produces sketches in meetings with colleagues and clients, translating conversations and ideas from around the table into a universal visual language.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FE_181022_N50_webview.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=140&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=59a45a775d760d30c9ca9e265df70084 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FE_181022_N50_webview.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=8f7ebdb4f9a5840f7b08a9076c3dadd8 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FE_181022_N50_webview.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=512&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=a5e3431994a4d83a8c76e71c64c2053a 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FE_181022_N50_webview.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=683&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=994372a60295bf5d94ab2884c063f8af 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FE_181022_N50_webview.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=934&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=c9beb73553879d6aa0b00e875c0ba52c 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FE_181022_N50_webview.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1067&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=146b2e1f076efce8e57be1bf958a0d7d 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FE_181022_N50_webview.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1281&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=dc384fe21ba20448fd5753e2c2cc66c6 1920w)
As architects, drawings are all about storytelling and giving our vision for a building a life and tangible character long before it becomes a reality. From the moment of the first thought to delivering a building on site, they are an essential means of communicating our designs and the narratives underpinning them to our clients, as well as the hundreds of people who might be involved in delivering a large scheme.
The visual language we adopt will vary depending on what we are trying to convey, the nature of the project, the stage of the process, and the audience. Each project will have its unique touchstones. We might want to capture an emotion, a feeling, or a sense of wonder; sometimes it’s about highlighting a view, sometimes a particular element of a building. Sketches, animations and 3D-printed models can each have a part to play in helping people understand our vision and in bringing them with us on the design journey.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F180209_-lobby-axo-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=210&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=c36478f8e8110a2541b69aa1ea012a5b 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F180209_-lobby-axo-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=420&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=177cae9a0dd0b61bc8a1a4e651029a62 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F180209_-lobby-axo-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=768&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=2a5e6d41e7f225a1c0af79a0654e7b51 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F180209_-lobby-axo-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1024&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=944c0443d9a481464abb72b1692a542f 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F180209_-lobby-axo-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1400&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=b8f1f9c05ec18ab290bd08b13d2f751a 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F180209_-lobby-axo-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1600&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=2c1368e7f15c101c300d9f1cf2d69801 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F180209_-lobby-axo-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1920&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=1b323e2c7861e6374934281f988f013d 1920w)
Digital versus hand drawn
While we celebrate traditional drawing at Make and in the Prize, digital techniques are equally valuable tools in an architect’s armoury. For this reason, The Architecture Drawing Prize welcomes digital and hybrid entries as well as the hand-drawn.
I personally do a lot of drawing on my iPad, using an Apple pencil and Adobe Sketch and Procreate. I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with it. It’s convenient, quick and like having a mobile studio on the one hand, but on the other you are effectively drawing on a piece of glass – something organic gets lost in the process.
I’ve needed to play with it as a tool, experimenting with ways of making digital sketches as emotive as hand-drawn examples, to make the iPad work for me. Being able to create mixed-media collages and send designs at the click of a button has helped to make up for any shortcomings. All in all, I am a convert to drawing digitally.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F01585_00_N690_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=157&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=e07620c3132fd0bb7e58d04fcb9d52a6 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F01585_00_N690_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=315&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=630a820c9668e7864b235a0eeaeb8da5 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F01585_00_N690_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=576&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=0bbe005d1eb0bc0ffb4e91fc3d591377 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F01585_00_N690_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=768&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=70be217da0767e667749f7005a0cc219 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F01585_00_N690_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1049&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=626917f400d65e975cde3346c57ea764 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F01585_00_N690_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1199&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=c1fb0c2c0e7b6f34390c3996f98e413e 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2F01585_00_N690_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1439&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=f08d360934a4eea57c7ad8ccb23cd4de 1920w)
3D printing and virtual reality
There is some debate as to what constitutes a drawing today. For me, a drawing can equally be something our modelmakers sketch on a machine as much as the marks made by a pencil on a piece of paper; 3D-printed models can be as evocative and useful as a tool of visual communication as a hand-drawn sketch.
Virtual reality hasn’t yet had the same impact as modelmaking and 3D printing have had on the architecture industry. It hasn’t proven to be quite as transformational as everyone expected. Part of the problem is that it’s a bit isolating to see someone strapped into VR goggles, exploring a design while everybody else stands around watching.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FM_180724_N2_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=140&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=7b4465e24c834cab1674d597d3a29f29 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FM_180724_N2_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=03090a783dd6dd5e297a19185fd1c076 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FM_180724_N2_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=512&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=94cda2cb29f5c7ae9081c057b896e98c 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FM_180724_N2_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=682&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=360fb1783d3ff970cbdf73b5fd6a3002 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FM_180724_N2_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=933&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=88952ecb3af94ffd18f38003c59a1802 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FM_180724_N2_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1066&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=4a1604c78c4ff22e33c14e7376867a99 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FM_180724_N2_weblandscape-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=5af4f8dc93411762833caf03b92d02fd 1920w)
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FFullscreen-capture-20092016-202332.bmp.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=118&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=0450d7d0e3549f9dd4a2c5a9177d7f68 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FFullscreen-capture-20092016-202332.bmp.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=236&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=7dbbc8b4c16cb27b2e139d2952657e89 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FFullscreen-capture-20092016-202332.bmp.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=432&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=28df1d627099aec85377a8838205b9bb 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FFullscreen-capture-20092016-202332.bmp.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=576&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=2e78cbf14b21e78bf57d6ac059ff5daf 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FFullscreen-capture-20092016-202332.bmp.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=788&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=b3066daf325527ae934510f89351d281 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FFullscreen-capture-20092016-202332.bmp.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=900&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=7339cbdd5adfe26f56d1839ac05c580a 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2020%2F05%2FFullscreen-capture-20092016-202332.bmp.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1080&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=a9bf9999cdb076cc74b2fd6ba766511f 1920w)
We’re waiting for a new wave of AI and augmented reality to bring about the next advancement in visual communication. Something like an architectural Minecraft, if you will, that’s collaborative and allows architects to play and stumble across new ideas.
Because those are the reasons why architectural drawings are so important – they allow people to come together to explore and communicate infinite possibilities.
Without that visual language, design concepts would remain as if a solitary VR experience – in the head of one creator. And it takes many people understanding and progressing an architectural vision to turn it into a built reality.
This post is derived from the ‘Architecture in the frame’ talk that Jason participated in at the London Art Fair in January 2020. The event featured a discussion on the ways architectural drawings might be produced, collected and mediated by practitioners, architects, curators and artists. The panel included organisers and participants of the 2019 Architecture Drawing Prize competition: Make’s Jason Parker, artist Ben Johnson and Owen Hopkins from Sir John Soane’s Museum.