Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:56 16 August 2016 Drawing from Practice Drawing from Practice explores and illuminates the ways that 26 diverse and reputable architects use freehand drawing to shape our built environment. Author J. Michael Welton traces the tactile sketch, from initial parti to finished product, through words, images, and photographs that reveal the creative process in action. The book features drawings and architecture from every generation practicing today, including Aidlin Darling Design, Alberto Alfonso, Deborah Berke, Marlon Blackwell, Peter Bohlin, Warren Byrd, Ellen Cassilly, Jim Cutler, Chad Everhart, Formwork, Phil Freelon, Michael Graves, Frank Harmon, Eric Höweler and Meejin Yoon, in situ studio, Léon Krier, Tom Kundig, Daniel Libeskind, Brian MacKay-Lyons, Richard Meier, Bill Pedersen, Suchi Reddy, Witold Rybczynski, Laurinda Spear, Stanley Tigerman, and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. Included is a foreword by Robert McCarter, architect, author and professor of architecture. J. Michael Welton writes about architecture, art, and design for national and regional publications. His news articles, feature stories, and op-ed criticisms have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, Dwell, Architectural Record, Ocean Home Magazine, Metropolis, Interior Design, Inform, and the Raleigh News & Observer. Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:56 16 August 2016 “J. Michael Welton’s Drawing from Practice is a fantastic book that sheds light on the creative process of how architects envision and bring their buildings to life. At a time when so much is lost to mechanization, Welton’s book reinforces the fact that nothing is as powerful and engaging as the art of the hand, especially in architecture. It is a book that every architecture student and enthusiast should have.” – Wendy Goodman, Design Editor, New York Magazine, USA “Many architects will say that before they dreamed of building, they dreamed of art. In Drawing from Practice, J. Michael Welton explores this essential connection through his interviews with many of the most compelling minds practicing today. In so doing he establishes that architecture is art, and that through drawing, artists create buildings.” – Amanda Dameron, Editor-in-Chief, Dwell Media, USA “Michael Welton’s deeply researched and thoughtfully composed book brings us inside the work and process of the nation’s esteemed architects. It is a powerful reminder of all the humanity that goes into the art, beyond the science and the mathematics and even the beauty. Through the architects’ drawings and words, we experience a rare intimacy.” – Lynn Medford, Editor, Washington Post Magazine, USA “Profiling architects with different approaches and at various stages in their careers, Welton investigates the importance of a simple pencil and paper to dozens of firms. He reminds us that new doesn’t always mean better by exploring how the medium has adapted to contemporary practice, as both a foundation for and a supplement to the latest technology. Whether you’re an architect or just curious about how buildings go from notepad to brick and mortar, Drawing from Practice is an engaging, approachable read.” – MacKenzie Lewis Kassab, Editor-in-chief, A Magazine, Lebanon “A must-read for architects and architecture enthusiasts alike, Drawing From Practice offers an unprecedented look at the creative processes of some of the most influential figures that shape our world – and the sketches that guide their work. The drawings presented feel intimate, the sources tapped reveal a wealth of knowledge, and J. Michael Welton’s writing, as always, is complex enough for experts while remaining accessible for casual fans of architecture.” – Amanda Koellner, Managing Editor, Design Bureau Magazine, USA Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:56 16 August 2016 “In an age of cutting-edge technology, drawing by hand is not only an enduring art form, but a necessary step in the creative process for any successful architect. Combining his talents as a keen observer, incisive commentator and natural storyteller, J. Michael Welton takes complex subjects and turns them into engaging and informative essays with a detailed yet easy to understand writing style that will be enjoyed by academics, professionals and casual readers alike.” – Andrew Conway, Editor, Ocean Home Magazine, USA Drawing from Practice Architects and the Meaning of Freehand J. Michael Welton Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:56 16 August 2016 Routledge Taylor & Francis Group NEW YORK LONDON First published 2015 by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 Taylor & Francis The right of J. Michael Welton to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Welton, J. Michael. Drawing from practice : architects and the meaning of freehand / J. Michael Welton. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:56 16 August 2016 1. Architectural drawing. 2. Drawing–Psychological aspects. I. Title. NA2708.W46 2015 720.28’4–dc23 2014022901 ISBN: 978-0-415-72508-8 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-72509-5 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-85691-9 (ebk) Typeset in Goudy Oldstyle Std Acquisition Editor: Wendy Fuller Editorial Assistant: Grace Harrison Production Editor: Jennifer Birtill Designer/Typesetter: Servis Filmsetting Ltd, Stockport, Cheshire For Ann, Who Keeps the Faith Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:56 16 August 2016 This page intentionally left blank Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:56 16 August 2016 vii Contents ix Introduction by J. Michael Welton xi Foreword by Robert McCarter 002 1 Aidlin Darling Design: Drawing for All the Senses 010 2 Alberto Alfonso: A Search for the Soul 018 3 Deborah Berke: A Tool for Thinking 026 4 Marlon Blackwell: The Thinking Drawing 034 5 Peter Bohlin: Drawing for Pleasure 042 6 Warren Byrd: The Collaborative Sketch 050 7 Ellen Cassilly: Talking and Sketching 058 8 James Cutler: The Externalization of Cognition 066 9 Chad Everhart: Mastering Mystery and Surprise 074 10 Formwork: An Incredibly Efficient Shorthand 082 11 Phil Freelon: The Language of Architecture 090 12 Michael Graves: Lessons Learned in Rome 098 13 Frank Harmon: Expressing the Idea 106 14 Höweler + Yoon: Winning Favor 114 15 in situ studio: Obsessed with Drawing 122 16 Léon Krier: Communicating Complex Information 130 17 Tom Kundig: The Poetry of the Sketch 138 18 Daniel Libeskind: An Act of Faith Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:56 16 August 2016 146 19 Brian MacKay-Lyons: Instinctive and Quick 154 20 Richard Meier: A Way of Learning 162 21 Bill Pedersen: High Hopes 170 22 Suchi Reddy: As Natural as Breathing 180 23 Witold Rybczynski: Connecting to the Past 188 24 Laurinda Spear: A Collaborative Spirit 196 25 Stanley Tigerman: A Language Other than Architecture 204 26 Tod Williams and Billie Tsien: Steps Along the Way 212 Acknowledgements 216 Index This page intentionally left blank Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:56 16 August 2016 ix Introduction Introduction Pencil sketches, Virginia countryside, 1946–1947; Francis Conway Welton This book found its inspiration in a triptych of pencil push to rescue Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. The drawings that are matted, framed, and hanging in my office in devastation, my father would write home in a V-mail, was Wake Forest, North Carolina. horrific. They rest on a wall behind my grandfather’s Mission-style But at war’s end he found himself back in Virginia, engaged drawing table that now serves as my desk. Before it is my not in acts of destruction, but in those of creation. And father’s chair for that table, an Eames-like, early 1950s affair. his drawings – as interesting for the marks he left out as Icons of architecture from other eras, the table is oak-legged for those he put in – are potent symbols of a man with sure and walnut-topped, while the chair is curved and molded artistic talent. Indeed, all the buildings he’d later leave Downloaded by [New York University] at 06:56 16 August 2016 plywood on a stainless-steel base. They provide ample space behind – some lean and modern, others in the Georgian and comfort for a writer, his laptop, lamp, and printer. Revival style of his father – started with a pencil sketch on paper. This trio of sketches was drawn during the winter of 1946 and 1947, in the rural countryside surrounding Charlottesville, In 2011, these same drawings inspired a feature in The where my father was a graduate student in the architecture Huffington Post on architects who draw by hand during this program at the University of Virginia. age of computers. Among those interviewed for that piece were Richard Meier, Michael Graves, Bill Pedersen, Brian Two years before, his class of 1943 at Virginia Military MacKay-Lyons, Frank Harmon, and Alberto Alfonso. Each Institute had packed up and marched off to the grim realities of these architects is featured in this book, alongside twenty of World War II in Europe and the Pacific. His army unit, the other firms made up of men and women who work together 87th Infantry Division, arrived in France in 1944, just in time ceaselessly to articulate the hand-sketch for a surprisingly to join General George Patton’s relentless and lightning-fast wide variety of reasons, and in a number of different ways.