with other architects or the client. Whatever technical method an architect employs, they all
touch, if ever so briefly, on a period of conception where the design is in its beginning
stages, made up of tentative and incomplete thoughts.
The medium (pencil, clay, charcoal, computer, etc.) is not as important in defining a
sketch, as its relative function in the design process. Many architects use charcoal or soft pen-
cils to emphasize line, and make the drawing expressive yet vague enough to allow for allu-
sions and analogies. Some architects employ inexpensive tracing paper to sketch quickly, still
others draw preliminary studies slowly on expensive paper. Some diagram in the fashion of
the parti and others carefully redraw a known building to deform or transform its image. The
varied media and techniques used to sketch may complicate a definition of these images. It is
more important to consider their use as conveyors of likeness.
As representations, sketches act as substitutes for mental impressions. This is important to
architectural sketching as a creative endeavor, because not knowing how mental impressions
originated leads creative people to proclaim that such impressions came from the imagina-
tion. Imagination represents objects that are absent from view, can be used to change or
interpret that which has been observed, or can recognize and reuse items which are known
(Warnock, 1976 ). The implication for architects when conceptualizing a potential design
becomes evident. Creative inspiration may be credited to an expanded associative capacity of
certain individuals, or it may be attributed to magic or divine intervention. Whatever the
case, the imagination encourages speculation because the images in the mind and on paper
can assume any possibility (Casey, 1976 ).
Architects contain within themselves the experiences and faculties necessary to interact
with this visual stimulus, because the act of sketching is in some ways dependent upon mem-
ory. Thoughts, images, and experiences – all part of the architect’s whole being – determine
what the sketch will be. Body memory, interpretation, and even specific items that are
retained in memory over other experiences, influence what the architect sketches. The archi-
tectural theoretician Robin Evans retells the mythological origins of drawing when he
describes Diboutades tracing the shadow outline of her departing lover’s profile on a wall
( 1986 ). For Diboutades the outline acted as a memory device to remind her of the absent per-
son. Similarly, drawing and sketching for architects depends upon a relative amount of like-
ness, a visual imagery that conveys conceptual comparison. Such resemblance connotes an
indication for associative memory, suggesting architectural sketches do not depend upon a
‘faithful picture.’ Both as a method for retaining information and thoughts, and as a medium
for inspiration and transformation, sketches constitute a personal dialogue for each architect.
Sketches may acquire various physical shapes, but their similarities lie in how and why
they are utilized and trusted by architects. Stemming from their relationship to function, it is
necessary to expand their definition by treating them as illustrative of their use in the design
process. Architects often employ sketches for conceptual design to discover or attain knowl-
edge, to accompany brainstorming, and to find allusions or associations. The sketch can
become the medium to express emotional or poetic concepts.
Architects also use sketches to record important events or ideas for later use. These nota-
tions may be travel companions to aid in visual recollection or to register an emotion or
thought. Architects often employ sketches to visually test abstract conceptual forms. They
may be used to ‘try something out for fit’ as a type of evaluation. Similarly, sketches may helpH5719-Introduction 7/15/05 3:06 PM Page 3