Sketch the design ARC6989 Reflections on Architectural Design

Tutor: Carolyn Butterworth

& George Lovett

Submit by: Mingyu Qi

Registration No: 110118552

MAAD

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“Design is a highly complex and sophisticated skill. It is not a mystical

ability given only to those with recondite powers but a skill which, for

many, must be learnt and practiced, rather like the playing of a sport or a

musical instrument.”

(Bryan Lawson, How designers think, p.11)

Ⅰ . Introduction

Sketch has been recognized as the most primarily used method during the

architecture design process. Apart from presenting the design result,

sketch could also be used as a tool for developing the design idea，which

is a totally dynamic process. Even though computer aided design

technology has been popularized, at present, a certain number of

architects still depend on sketch as their main methods of design. As an

architecture student, in order to obtain a broad view of various design

methods of sketch, it is of great significance for me to study the

architecture cases by looking at and understanding architects’ sketch in

depth. From which I could read their creative ways and design habits,

most importantly, I could discover more aspects of the design which

could not be presented only by the photos or the models.

This essay focuses on sketch as a design tool rather than a presenting tool

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and divides it into three common seen types --- sketch started with scene,

sketch started with plan and sketch started with conceptual form, to

illustrate more specifically, three typical architects’ works are taken as

examples to see how the sketch method was being differently used in

their design from different starting points, styles, developing logic and

intentions, as well as how the sketch motivated the idea and solved the

design problems.

Ⅱ . Skecth study

i. Sketch started with scene

This kind of sketch could be simply regarded as the perspective

hand-drawing sketch, in which way many architects achieve an initial

idea of the volume and rough façade of their buildings. Besides, most

importantly, the sketch often offers a better view of how the building will

be settled in the site, thereby enabling architects to consider more about

the relationship between the building and the site.

Take Adega Mayor Winery designed by Alvaro Siza as an example, we

could find that Alvaro Siza continuously drew 11 scenario sketches from

just one same point of view to define the building type again and again.

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The building is located in an open grassland in suburbs of Campo Maior

in Portugal, there only existed one road to the industrial zone in south in

the site as shown in figure 1.

 Figure  1.  The  relationship  of  the  site  and  the  environment  

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In a brief comment of Marco Mulazzani (Casabella755), it was

mentioned that the architect chose a hillside as the site but not a flat and

convenient site, which ran north south and was occupied by the rocks and

trees on the top. After he designed a road leading to the site, the building

was designed to spread along the hillside and was finally confirmed as a

shape of rectangle running north and south. Therefore we could see that

the architect started design from the particular site to define the original

form of the building. That is to say, Alvaro Siza probably was searching

for some inspiring elements from the site to continue the design and he

found the road and the ground.

 Figure  2.  Sketches  from  the  same  viewpoint

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The architect drew some sketches as shown in figure 2, from which we

could imagine that he observed the site from a distance and began to

sketch the initial volume. When we put these rough sketches together, it

is not difficult to see that there exits similarities among them.

 Figure  3.  The  viewpoint  to  observe  the  site

First of all, these sketches were developed from rough to specific from

the same perspective continuously. Additionally, the architect kept on

depicting the southeast corner of the building, it seems like he potentially

emphasized the importance of this view. Finally, as shown in figure 3, the

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viewpoint created by the architect has a relatively long distance, thus; the

feeling of the perspective drawing was weakened but being more like a

long elevation. Obviously, this viewpoint played a role as a medium

between the design development and site visit, which means these

sketches were combined with the site inseparably. Meanwhile, the crucial

viewpoint became the unique observing point both when visiting the site

and developing the design.

Through these sketches, the architect seemed to address that the design

could not be continued without this specific scene-based viewpoint, and

the consideration of building, environment and his own scene perception

are equally important. In conclusion, this kind of sketch, which reflects a

real scene in architect’s brain, is a method of testing the relationship

between the building and the site based on one’s spatial perception.

ii. Sketch started with plan

Different from the sketch started with the scene, the main purpose of the

plan sketch is to explore the internal logic of the building, therefore this

kind of sketch tends to search the possibilities and connectivity between

spaces rather than directly reflect to an architecture form. The point can

be confirmed by the example of Therme Vals by Peter Zumthor, figure 4.

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 Figure  4.  Therme  Vals，Switzerland  

According to this project we could find the way that how the specific

building was developed from the abstract sketch of spatial relationship.

At the beginning of the design, Zumthor expected that it would be “a

building that could somehow always have been there” ( Sigrid Hauser,

Peter Zumthor therme Vals, Zurich : Scheidegger & Spiess, 2007) as the

context that thermal spring has existed there for a long time, which also

presented two layers of architecture design---tangible and intangible.

After that, Zumthor focused his attention on the relationship between the

rock and the water and drew a quarry sketch about the space blocks, as

shown in figure 5, he concentrated much on the problem of the plan

composition. The rectangles were organized to adjust the relation

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between chart and bottom as well as the rhythm, repeat and change of

spaces.

 Figure  5.  plan  sketch  of  Peter  Zumthor

It is the unique language of architects that changing intangible things to

tangible. Zumthor made this process dynamic with imaging the process of

drawing sketch as digging rocks by charcoal pencils. It is manifest to see

that the plan was endowed with more dimensional sense by drawing the

blocks rather than lines, Similarly, the different gray level represented the

different spatial senses and architectural meanings. Zumthor also

assumed himself walking through these blocks thereby developing his

idea of the sequence and change of the spaces. As shown in figure 6,

what he continuously speculated was the organizing relationship of the

plan，he kept this point through the whole design process, deepened the

plan again and again, and made them being freely distributed but with

potential geometrical rules. The sketch presented a kind of comparison,

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which was between the sense of tense and loose, free and control.

Figure  6.  Compositing  plan  and  interior  model  study  

In comparison to the perspective sketch, plan became the key point when

developing the design. More specifically, sketch started with scene and

plan sketch have quite different quality, the former is to assume a

comprehensive feeling of people based on diverse elements in the

simulative scene while the latter offers a better view of the spatial

relationship and the mutual effect during each architecture element. To

some extent, in my opinion, the scene-based sketch develops the idea

more integrally and externally while the plan skecth works in a relatively

detailed and interior way.

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iii. Sketch started with conceptual form

Steven Holl described concept as follows: “A concept is the engine that

drives the design process. Early in each project, after analyzing the site

and program and sometimes after several false starts, a central concept /

concepts is settled on, together with vague spatial sketch. As each site

circumstance is unique, we aim for equally balanced and particular

solutions. The concept, expressed in the diagram and words, helps focus a

manifold of different aspects. It helps in the development of project...”

(Holl, S., in Pallasmaa, J., 2003, p.58)

This kind of sketch has no direct

corresponding relationship with

the specific building, it is often

abstract and it describes the

architect’s own understanding

and inspiration of the design. For

example, in the design of Y House by Steven Hall in New York, he drew

a Y-shaped tree branch in the site to express his feeling of what his

building should be like. Normally, as the conceptual sketch presents the

abstract information and sometimes the central theme of the design, it is

often used as the starting point or a conceptual clue during the design

Figure  7.  Steven  Hall,  sketch  of  Y  House

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process rather than a developing tool.

Steven Holl started with a design often by raising and drawing a

particular concept, whereas, apart from presenting his idea of the design,

sometimes his conceptual sketch is also used as an operative tool to

generate subsequent ideas and potential design possibilities. “I consider

them (concept sketch) my secret weapon. They allow me to move afresh

from one project to the next, from one site to the next... Finding an initial

concept for each project that captures the essence of the architectural

opportunities unique to that project is, for me, the only way into it, the

door through which new ideas enter architecture.” (Holl, S., in Kipnis, J.,

2003, p.36.)

Figure  8.  Site  plan.  Helsinki  Museum  of  Contemporary  Art1993-‐1998

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Figure9.   Conceptual   sketch   Helsinki   Museum  of  Contemporary  Art  

To illustrate this point, Helsinki Museum of Contemporary Art by Steven

Holl is taken as an example to review the development of the design

according to architect’s concept diagram. Steven Holl gained a

architectural inspiration from the philosophical word “chiasm,” or

“intertwining” by which he imagined the relationship between the body

and the world and then transferred that into the relation of buildings

within the city.

Firstly, Steven Holl drew the idea of two main lines of forces, which were

“cultural line” and “natural line”. These forces were derived from his

own interpretation of the site, “An implicit ‘cultural line’ curves to link

the building to Finlandia Hall while it also engages a ‘natural line’

Figure  10.  “Lines  of  forces”  in  the  museum  design  

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connecting to the east landscape and Töölo Bay.”(Holl, S., 1998‘first

published in 1996 Intertwining’ New York: Princeton Architectural Press.)

As he mentioned above, Holl was inspired by the analogy of “two hands

clasping each other”. Through his sketch (figure 8) we could see the

developing process of the design, initially it began with two lines twisted

together which presents Holl’s suggestion of the cultural line and natural

line. Then a rectangular part was inserted by a curve one, which reflects

the architect’s inspiration of “intertwining”, meanwhile the rough form

and volume of the building tends to be outlined.

Three steps of the conceptual sketch are explored in this example, the

generation of the concept at the beginning, which establishes people’s

primary perception of the architecture. Followed by the concept

translation that transfers imagination into visual elements. Thirdly, the

precision of the concept, only by which could we test the concept and

entirely feel the whole idea.

Ⅲ . Conclusion

Base on studying the three different types of sketch, their qualities could

be concluded according to different aspects:

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From the perspective of drawing type, three types of sketches are

listed---perspective sketch, plane sketch and mixed sketch of concept.

From the usage of the sketch in design, Alvaro Siza conducted the design

by his observing experience and focused on the relationship between the

scene perception and the building. Peter Zumthor concentrated more on

the spatial sequence and relationship. For Steven Holl, by whom the

translation from the abstract concept to precise idea was most

emphasized.

These differences reflect three architects’ thinking mode and their

creating logic to us. They start with design from diverse perspective, keep

on searching and exploring the relationship between different layers of

the design to continuously modifying and testing their ideas. However,

the similar point is that, during each design process, sketch is the

dominant explorative tool and plays a role as a design engine that guiding

the articulation of the spaces and the form of the building.

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1&3: lvaroSiza2001--2008ELcroquis,ELcroquiseditorial,2008

Figure 2: Casabella 755，“Álvaro Siza”P.94(Internet resource)

Figure 4: website photo

Figure5&6: Sigrid Hauser, Peter Zumthor therme Vals, Zurich :

Scheidegger & Spiess, 2007

Figure7: www.vartcn.com

Figure8: Holl, Steven, 1998 (first published in 1996), Intertwining, New

York: Princeton Architectural Press, p.89

Figure9: Holl, Steven 2000, Parallax, New York: Princeton

Architectural Press, P.39

Figure10: Holl, Steven 2000, Parallax, New York: Princeton

Architectural Press, P.46

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BIBLOGRAPHY

Bryan Lawson, How designers think, London : Architectural Press (etc.),

1980

Sigrid Hauser, Peter Zumthor therme Vals, Zurich : Scheidegger &

Spiess, 2007

Edward Robins,  Why architects draw, London  :  MIT  Press,  1994.  

Holl, Steven 2000, Parallax, New York: Princeton Architectural Press,

Holl, S., 1998‘first published in 1996 Intertwining’ New York: Princeton

Architectural Press.

Holl, S., in Pallasmaa, J., 2003

Holl, S., in Kipnis, J., 2003

Casabella755, “Álvaro Siza”(Internet resource)