Understanding Architecture Through Drawing

the gateways into cathedral closes or market squares are
sometimes given civic expression, and deserve
sketchbook analysis. In much the same fashion large
buildings have imposing entrances that tell you
immediately where the main doors are located. Town
halls, Victorian railway stations and court houses all
employ a simple language of entrance definition usually
incorporating columns and pediments. By way of
contrast, modern buildings (especially those of the 1960s
and 1970s) often fail to mark their entrance, so that, for
example, to find the doors to the Sainsbury Centre at the
University of East Anglia is an unwelcome trial.
Expressed entrances frequently open on to interesting
interior hallways, which lead the visitor to secondary

doorways and corridors. The progression through from

street, to entrance, to interior is periodically marked by

elaborate doorways. The sketchbook study could focus

upon the processional route and its punctuation, or upon

the details of the portals or doorways. If the latter path is

followed, the door furniture and aspects of craftsmanship

could be highlighted.

Doors and doorcases are difficult subjects to draw. It is

worth spending time on them as they often represent a

greater amount of architectural investment than much of

the remainder of the building. Georgian doorways are

particularly complex subjects, but at least ensure, when

you are sketching them, that the proportions are correct,

for this is what probably most concerned the original

14.8

These studies of doorways

and gables at Horyu-Ji Temple,

Kyoto, show the benefit of

articulating construction for

aesthetic effect. The building is

reputed to be the oldest timber

structure in the world.

Gateways, entrances and doorways 119