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| JP Teugels Salle A Manger, a favorite flea market find |
I was so happy to see Michael Graves
column on the lost
art of drawing in architecture.
I have
long thought producing simple hand sketches in our end of the business is a
pleasurable pursuit and an effective tool for getting ideas across. I had not
thought of it in an organized way, but Mr Graves assertion that
"Architecture cannot divorce itself from drawing, no matter how impressive
the technology gets. Drawings are not just end products: they are part of the
thought process of architectural design. Drawings express the interaction of
our minds, eyes and hands." struck a chord with me.
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| Michael Graves Temples of Juno and Neptune, Paestum, 1961 |
Though I am not an architect and do not present many hand
drawn images to our clients, we render our floor plans in richly layered
colors we know the client loves. The sensuous experience of doing that adds to
the enjoyment in thinking about what might please the client.
 |
| Ellen Hanson Illustration of Table with Leaves, 2009 |
And sometimes we send a small sketch to a workroom
showing a design detail to the fabricator.
Graves says "In a handmade drawing, whether on an electronic tablet
or on paper, there are intonations, traces of intentions and speculation. This
is not unlike the way a musician might intone a note or how a riff in jazz
would be understood subliminally and put a smile on your face."
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| Ellen Hanson, Leg Detail for a Workroom, 2012 |
After months of rushing around to prepare purchase orders
and meet deadlines, it is time to sharpen the colored pencils, unzip the pouch
of markers and open a roll of yellow flimsy.
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| Michael Graves, Denver Library South Facade Sketch 1991 |
