Understanding Architecture Through Drawing

understand relationships partly lost on the surface. Even if
all the evidence is not available, analysis through the
sketchbook may allow new theories to be postulated or
old ones tested.
Many historic and ancient sites faced problems that
modern city planners and architects also frequently
address. How were the resources needed for survival to
be gathered, where were they stored, and how was
waste to be disposed of without jeopardising the health
of the community? Where was water to be found and
how could energy from the sun and wind be exploited for
heating or cooling? How could the settlement be
sheltered from winds or protected from attack, and what
was the best relationship between field, forest, farm and
hamlet? These are all questions that can be addressed in

the context of archaeological sites and for which the

sketchbook could be used to draw lessons.

More recent histories, such as Roman settlements,

can be explored in similar ways. With its strong sense of

geometry and monumental construction, Roman

architecture lends itself to investigation through freehand

drawing. The clean lines of the Roman builders, their

compact town planning and well-articulated public

monuments provide good material for those intent upon

sketching the remains rather than recording them through

photography. Line and shade are the best techniques to

employ – the first to understand the orthogonal discipline

of Roman structures, the second to express the visual

weight of its construction. Roman city planning was

based upon grid layouts intersected with cross-axes and

19.4

A deserted highland

village in Scotland showing

the close relationship

between buildings and the

enclosure of landscape

with stone walls. The

drawing edits out much

unnecessary material to

focus on the melancholic

scene.

History and archaeology 165