The Art of Architectural Drawing
Resort Hotel, Portugal. (1991) T.W. Schaller. Architects: Arquitectonica. Watercolor, 28cm 43cm A loose and high-spirited treatment with a bright watercolor palette was most fitting for the representation of this particular scheme.
"I-2; Solo-Home." (1995) Artist/Designer: Willem van den Hoed. Watercolor, 10.2cm 15.3cm This arresting image, in van den Hoed's words, depicts "an entirely closed building form. At ground level, the geometrical volumes that are subtracted from the box-shaped base form create an arcade. The wires define two semi-private spaces alongside the building [and] could also be read as communication links between the solo-home and the outside world."
Castle. (1993) Benjamin M. Decker. Marker, 25.6cm 20.5cm Fireworks and structure work together, in perfect balance, for an especially convincing overall atmospheric effect.
The Wind. (1993) Thomas J. Sayers. Watercolor, 30.5cm 20cm The sense, the feeling of a child's joy in movement, is perfectly captured here in a series of vigorous "primal" circles.
House. (1956) T.W. Schaller. Ink and crayon, 30cm 23cm It was not a specific house, but rather the idea of a "perfect" house that inspired this image.
"Ice" Monsoon Restaurant and Bar Interior "MR 12," Sapporo, Japan. (1990) Artist/Designer:Z Zaha M. Hadid. White crayon, ink, and acrylic on black cartridge paper, 20cm 52cm Less a drawing of a space than a drawing about a space, this image, like Hadid's actual structures, is the very embodiment of life and movement. Of the project she states, "The constraints of the conventional building (the existing structure enclosing Monsoon) created the desire to break away. The result is a hybrid of compressed, dynamic inside and static outside."
La Finestra del Poeta a NY con la mano del Santo. (1978) Aldo Rossi. Ink and marker on board, 30.5cm 47cm Though compellingly architectural, there is so much about this unique architect/artist's efforts in both built and unbuilt mediums that transcend any standard tectonic consideration. Architectural form acts as a mere springboard for other, far more subjective means of expression. The poet's window, for example, certainly opens to a much wider view of New York here than can be contained by any standard architectural language.
A West-End Club-House, perspective view with plans. (1882) Artist/Designer: Arthur Beresford Pite (18611934). Pen and ink, 91.5cm 63.5cm Courtesy of The British Architectural Library, RIBA, London. Shades of Beardsley and Durer as well as a heavy dose of Victorian-era Gothic resound through much of Pite's work, and while many of the day deemed this particular work loathsome, it did manage to secure for its author the RIBA's prestigious Soane Medallion in 1882. At the very least, this fantastic image succeeds in convincing the viewer of the comunicative potential of an essentially line- based medium such as pen and ink.
The Renaissance in New York. (1989) Artist/Designer: Albert Lorenz. Ink line, 93.6cm 148.2cm Few artists exploit the full potential of their chosen medium to the expressive degree of Lorenz. The fluidity, the contrast, and the sense of movement inherent in the simple, hand-drawn ink line are extrapolated within this highly thoughtful, witty, and sophisticated piece to inform the entire work. The artist succeeded in making the viewer believe that the drawing's playful, organic intent would have been impossible to capture as completely or appropriately in any other mediuma true tour deforce.