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A
Z
Drawing in Architecture
Current
2020
list Article list

Drawing in Architecture

The act of drawing in architecture and urban design is a fundamental but underappreciated skill. It is a skill that is becoming increasingly marginalised with new and accessible technologies that allow spatial exploration and expression to bypass the pencil-to-paper-to-brain connection.

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Trammies Corner

Drawing architecture in an Australian setting means architecture resides in landscape for so many situations. Australia is highly urbanised and the regional distribution of settlements invariably means a landscape component of importance is part of many architectural settings. When this is combined with the bright and sometimes harsh Australian sun, the role of light and shade, climate responsiveness and protection is clearly seen and felt when drawing the place.

I have been a late convert to drawing in Australia — having largely sketched when I travelled rather than at home. The impact of the Covid-19 lockdowns and the increased time spent at home prompted me to commence some serious exploration of my immediate settings of Paddington in Brisbane. Paddington is an inner-city suburb with low density subtropical houses of humble materiality sitting in a dramatic landscape of a confident, newly developing urban centre and inner-city frame.

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The pleasure of drawing the small-scale residences and integrating this with topography, vistas and light proved surprisingly rich in the range and variety of subjects — depending on the time of day and seasonal landscape influences.

There is nothing like drawing a place to see a place.

This post forms part of our series on The Architecture Drawing Prize: an open drawing competition curated by Make, WAF and Sir John Soane’s Museum to highlight the importance of drawing in architecture. View the shortlist for the 2020 competition here.