Sketch Book for the Artist

Master Builders

EVERY NEW BUILDING, embodying a massive investment of

ideas, materials, and labor, marks the end of a long journey

from the first few marks the architect made on a sheet of

paper. Drawings underpin every great human-made structure

like hidden linear ghosts at their core. Architects draw for

many reasons: to visualize ideas; evoke presence; describe a

finished look to a client; calculate function, structure, and

balance; and ultimately to show builders what to do.

Hawksmoor's drawing is both a plan and an evocation. Lines

define structure while washes suggest light and atmosphere.

Gaudi's fluid architecture grew up through many kinds of

drawing. The photograph opposite shows his studio hung

with metal pendulums, a three-dimensional drawing made

with wires and weights, testing gravity to calculate the inverted

shapes of domes. Below it, densely layered lines in mists of

color weave the presence of the expected building into shape.

NICHOLAS HAWKSMOOR

One of Britain's "three great" Baroque

architects (along with Sir Christopher

Wren and Sir John Vanbrugh).

Hawksmoor established his reputation

with university and church architecture

including All Souls College, Oxford,

and six London churches. A student

of Wren's, and later an assistant to

Vanbrugh, he also worked on St Paul's

Cathedral, Hampton Court Palace,

Blenheim Palace, and Castle Howard.

Three aspects This subtle and sophisticated

drawing made in pen and wash displays three

distinct aspects of Hawksmoor's baptistry.

Together they explain how interior structure

and space define exterior form and shape.

Finished surface On the left the finished

surface of the building is given depth and

emphasis by immaculate vertical and

horizontal brush strokes of shadow. We see

the modeled detail of Corinthian columns,

pilasters, and an inscribed entablature.

Cut-away interior On the right a section

cut through the center of the building reveals

material thicknesses, relative levels, and the

shapes of interior domes and apses.

Pillars and floor At the base of the drawing

a compass-drawn plan tilted downward

through 90 degrees illustrates the arrangement

of pillars around a central circular floor.

St Paul's Baptistry

c. 1711-12

NICHOLAS HAWKSMOOR

ARCHITECTURE