Art and Design Program

Architectural Drawing and The Built Environment

Faculty Advisor: Architectural Designer; Teaching Fellow, Architecture, Yale University

Research Program Introduction

The discipline of architecture encompasses much more than buildings. It studies light and dark, solid and void, the movement of people and objects through space, and geometric form. Thoughtful design surrounds us every day and has the power to impart change on an emotional, socioeconomic, ecological, and political scale. Thinking about architectural design in the context of greater issues allows practitioners to innovate and transform the built environment. The built environment lives a parallel life in the realm of drawing and visual expression. This program will explore the relationship between built form and the intricacies of visual representation. 

Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of architectural drawing and concept ideation through a series of lectures, short readings, and drawing exercises. In weekly meetings, students will present their drawing progress, learn to critique and think critically about their work, and discuss ideas presented in readings and visual material.

Final Deliverables

At the end of the program, students will have a drawing collage and a series of sketches that respond to the architectural problem posed. Students will also write a descriptive and experiential piece accompanying their final drawings. All work throughout the program will be iterative, and the process is more important than the final project.

Project Topics

  • The expression of natural light through drawing

  • The significance of spatial adjacencies

  • Flow through a designed space

  • Experimental drawing and collage techniques

  • The importance of materiality

  • Basic suggestion of structure

  • Environmental performance

  • How the design and drawing expression might respond to certain theories posed in class or readings

Program Details

  • Cohort size: 3 to 5 students

  • Workload: Around 4 to 5 hours per week (including class and homework time)

  • Target students: 9 to 12th graders interested in architecture, graphic design, and visual arts. Drawing experience and AutoCAD, Rhino, and Photoshop software experience are a plus but not required.

  • Required materials:

    • Pencils of varying softness (recommended: 6B or greater, HB, 2H), eraser 

    • Media of choice: ink, charcoal, paint, etc. 

    • Paper with a rougher texture is ideal for drawing, such as the Strathmore 400 series drawing pad (18” x 24”). The paper must be 18” x 24” or larger.

    • A sketchbook 

    • Zoom, Microsoft Word

    • Good to have, but not required: 45-degree plastic drawing triangle