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Poll: Does an architect lose credibility if s/he can't draw?
Prince Charles recently slammed architects who can't draw. What is your opinion? Post your answer here or visit the poll on our blog.
Tags: architecture, drawing, technology
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Fred B Thompson on -
I would say that my confidence would be enhanced by an ability to draw far less than it would be destroyed by knowing that an individuals math skills were on the low end of the bell curve, although I do believe they are intertwined.
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Permalink Reply by Elizabeth on -
Good point, Fred. Although I've never actually met an architect who couldn't draw, I've met plenty of art majors who can draw beautifully but are not architects.
Danny Elfman doesn't really know how to read music, but he can write it very well indeed. I shouldn't care to be snobbish or judgemental about a particular skill, when a human is a whole package. Nonetheless, it is reasonable to expect a high level of drafting skill.
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Permalink Reply by Hosein Ali Rahbari on -
There is no evidence to show even an Architect who could achieve good credit but could not draw and draft whatever he plans to create.
As better as Architect could do drawing and drafting, he is more successful in transfering his Ideas. As a subsiquence, his creature will be built more accurate and closer to what he imagined.
Therefore, in my belief there is no credit for an Architect who cannot draw and draft well!!!
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Permalink Reply by Michael McKenzie on -
In a word Yes...and I think this becomes more obvious when you change the question so as to be more relevant to the real issue... and also, lets forget about credibility...we want to be credible not just for the respect of our peers but more importantly, so we can earn a job, career, a business, our own firm and the necessary income. I think what we mean is Opportunity, to work, get projects, make $$?.
So to my mind the question should be "Does an architect GAIN credibility and with that, more business opportunity, because he/she Can sketch/draw with poise confidence and skill.
Just a few things we might consider;
It is the nature of most things that as they become scarce they become more valued, and sketching ability is a declining skill.
There is an undeniable wow factor in presentation when you take pencil and paper and begin to demonstrate (with skill) your ideas...you get full and immediate attention from your audience.
This can be the defining moment in a competition as it was for Libeskind whose controversial cantilevered, glass-and-aluminum design was initially sketched and submitted on 11 paper napkins FedExed from Berlin, where he was then based. They were, recalls ROM CEO William Thorsell, “so wonderfully amusing, creative, spirited and cheeky...the unique personal, human characteristics that can only be communicated with a sketch by your own hand.
While it would seem that there is no correlation between drawing ability and design ability (look at the sketches of some great designers) I think there is absolutely an innate advantage to this skill if for no other reason, but to separate you from the crowd; as Seth Godin writes in 'Purple Cow', to be successful in relentlessly competetive markets you must be Remarkable.
Cheers all
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Permalink Reply by oz on -
what charles was saying , had more to do with certain ( country omitted under the geneva convention rule 54c-12 ) chip board architects who are rather more political than graphical ...but unlike the prince ..
I THINK A WIN IS A WIN ..weither by hand and pallette or exacto and chip .......nes pas
it remains creativity , language over credibility ...models are hypnotizing ..in any form
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Permalink Reply by Fred B Thompson on
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I am going to come back to this discussion since my first comment. My initial comment was directed toward large complex projects. Projects where an architect would have a great deal of supporting resources available to them. In that scenario the importance of drawing skills are probably not as important. When the project becomes smaller, very small, such as a piece of furniture, drawing skills would seem to directly correlate to an ability to adequately communicate the concept, and thus very important.
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Permalink Reply by Michael McKenzie on
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Hi Kim...yes Shakey was indeed a wise man...The music must be in he and she...and though collaboration with the robot machine can enhance...
To begin...there are twists and turns and little tactile concerns that can only be resolved in solitary doodle as the creator listens to the voice within...
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Permalink Reply by oz on
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"Picasso is the reason why I paint. He is the father figure, who gave me the wish to paint. In 1929 I saw some completely revolutionary pieces, Le baiser and Les baigneuses. The figures are organic. They were my inspiration in The Crucifixion. Picasso was the first person to produce figurative paintings which overturned the rules of appearance; he suggested appearance without using the usual codes, without respecting the representational truth of form, but using a breath of irrationality instead, to make representation stronger and more direct; so that form could pass directly from the eye to the stomach without going through the brain. Picasso opened the door to all these systems. I have tried to stick my foot in the door so that it does not close."
Francis Bacon, The Last Interview: “I painted to be loved”, Francis Giacobetti, The Art Newspaper, June 2003
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Permalink Reply by Brian Lemmerman on -
Although not absolutely necessary for brilliant design, drawing is the quickest and most reproducible visual communication tool that architects have at their disposal, and it can aid others in understanding one's ideas as effectively as good speech can. Often, designers do not possess the aptitude for drawing to convey every idea clearly, so words supplement the presentation of images. Conversely, quick sketches and photographs can supplement a verbal presentation. Bottom line- an architect's communication is only half as effective without drawing. If we skipped drawing altogether and moved straight to building, an architect's verbal communication better be on point.
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Permalink Reply by Michael McKenzie on
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Brian...I agree completely. In a world where designers must now be accomplished marketers, their presentation skills are paramount...and the confident sketch is a crucial prerequisite for those who must communicate ideas not yet fully formed.
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Permalink Reply by Brett on -
I’ve always appreciated Prince Charles’ support of Architecture, especially because the last two US presidents have been, relatively, either indifferent or incapable of the same kind of interest.
This article is very interesting: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/articles/000/000/001/3...
Anyway, on a conceptual basis I think freehand drawing skills are essential to our profession. Putting pencil to paper is the most substantial means to provide physical proof of the special skill set an Architect enjoys; there’s nothing like watching a client’s face light up as they watch a vision they just described manifest before their eyes.
It also reinforces the Architect’s express commitment and ownership of a particular project. Drawing is generally a solitary, intimate endeavor; by allowing the client to witness or even simply view the finished work provides evidence that the Architect is willing to apply himself and his talents in service of the client’s vision in order to protect both that vision and the project as a whole. It raises the level of confidence and strengthens the bonds.
There’s a direct correlation between hand drawing and an architectural process that finds its start in practical building science and its end in art. The Architect is the medium, the alchemist, of this process and a demonstration of this transformative facility via hand drawing can be magic and undeniable.
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