BUILDING DETAILS
If whole buildings or engineering structures are too
complex for your needs or drawing skills, then select an
aspect of their architecture or construction. You could
concentrate on a relatively simple subject such as
windows, chimneys or roofs, or alternatively you could
attempt the more difficult topic of shopfronts, curtain
walling or decorative paving. Whatever subject is
selected, ensure you locate the example clearly and use a
drawing style that allows one example to be compared
with another. It is remarkable how much pleasure you will
derive from building up a collection of examples drawn
from your neighbourhood or on your travels. You will be
surprised, too, at how freshly you view your local
environment once you have taken the time to record and
analyse it through the freehand sketch.
EXPLORING YOUR LOCAL HERITAGE
Sketching is an excellent way to study your local
architectural or archaeological heritage. You do not
have to be a great artist to benefit from the heightened
awareness of the subject that drawing it gives. The
exploration of one’s locality through the freehand sketch
can be supplemented by accurately measured surveys or
searches through documentary sources. No matter
where one lives, the local environment will provide much
material for those intent upon exploring a town’s
heritage.
Whether you choose to study the conservation of
town houses, rural farms or industrial monuments,
drawing on location is an essential starting point. Such
studies can deal with building types that may interest you
- perhaps the arrangement of farm buildings outside your
town – or with special parts of the town, such as
conservation areas. If you are drawing primarily for
pleasure, seek out attractive compositions and
comfortable locations, but if your sketch is part of a
systematic analysis then you should adopt a more
methodical approach.
For example, if you are studying farm buildings, start
with a specific building type, such as threshing barns, or
particular farm layouts, whether U-shaped or based
around a courtyard. The important point is to build up a
collection of sketched case studies that can be compared
in both general form and detail. In no time you will be
surprised at the similarities that exist between subjects
and the subtle evolutions of form that emerge in
response to changing farm practices or different climatic
demands. By analysing a specific building type fairly
closely, your knowledge of the local environment and its
architectural heritage may well exceed the
documentation available in local libraries. It may be
possible to compare your field sketches and notes with
historic maps of the area, allowing you to speculate upon
the development of particular farm types in your
neighbourhood. Such exercises have obvious value in
environmental education and could be used to support
the conservation of such buildings if they are threatened
by planning applications.
If you are seeking to analyse historic buildings in your
neighbourhood through the medium of freehand drawing,
you may find it useful to add sketch plans or details of
such things as windows or gate hinges to the space
around the edges of your drawing. A single sheet can
then provide a wide range of useful documentary
material. This supplementary material may prove useful if
you are seeking to date the building or identify the people
who built it.EXPLORING DESIGN: THE WORK OF FOUR GREAT
ARCHITECTS
A great deal can be learnt from a careful study of buildings
designed by famous architects. How they fashion a
corner, model a façade, or organise the ground plan areExploration through the sketchbook 207