INTRODUCTION
Through history, architects have manipulated visual imagery to assist the design process.
Such imagery has assumed the form of construction documents, design drawings, analysis
and details, various forms of sketches, and images conceived in the mind’s eye. The philoso-
pher Richard Wollheim writes that representational seeing involves ‘seeing as’ ( 1971 ). It
requires foresight and imagination to comprehend a two-dimensional visual image as a
three-dimensional inhabitable structure. Since it is economically unfeasible to test a con-
struction full scale, architects depend on substitute media to assist in their visual thinking.
Humans are seldom able to imagine a fully formed impression of a complex configuration,
such as a building, entirely in the mind. Through visual artifacts, architects can transform,
manipulate, and develop architectural concepts in anticipation of future construction. It may,
in fact, be through this alteration that architectural ideas find form.
The architectural theoretician Marco Frascari suggests that drawing can guide architects to
an understanding of architecture as both constructed and construed, because drawings intrin-
sically convey theory: ‘Real architectural drawings are not illustrations, but pure expression of
architectural thinking.’^1 Wolfgang Meisenheimer also explored the role of drawing to exam-
ine architectural thinking when he wrote: ‘And the question arises of whether a new, differ-
ent understanding of architectural drawing, alludes to a new and different understanding of
architecture!?’ ( 1987 , p. 119 ). Meisenheimer’s assertion asks if media and method affect design
thinking and, therefore, the structures architects create. It is important to consider the inher-
ent potential of representational media to surpass mere communication. This is a vital issue for
the study of architectural sketches, and will be contemplated throughout this book.
Images are ever present. Visual stimulus in the commercial realm eliminates the possibility
of an ‘innocent eye’ in a contemporary phenomenon the philosopher Richard Kearney calls
the ‘culture of the image’ ( 1988 ). This overindulgence of imagery suggests the continuous
mirror play between imagination and reality in postmodern culture; the image is always in
process, subjected to constant reinterpretation. The ambiguous and unfinished qualities of
sketches epitomize this notion. Additionally, current interest in architectural design process
stems from a belief that process, or sketches as indicative of process, can be viewed as a direct
link to inspiration. Although research into Genetic Criticismfinds that process may not be alto-
gether linear, it is expressive of design thinking. Appropriately, the discussion of image, its
text, and context can be investigated for its influence on the imagination and design process
of architects. In this age of extensive computer use and the proliferation of visual stimulus, it
is essential that architects question and interpret the media they utilize. By exploring the his-
torical role of sketches as instruments of thinking, commonalities and differences will surface.
From these, one may ascertain a definition of architectural sketches and expose their impor-
tance in the production of architecture.H5719-Introduction 7/15/05 3:06 PM Page 1