With the emergence of increasingly sophisticated digital technologies, the practice of architecture is undergoing the most comprehensive transformation in centuries. Drawing, historically, the primary means of generation, presentation and interrogation of design ideas, is ill-defined and under stress. This course begins with an exploration of the historical and theoretical development of descriptive geometry and perspective through the development of rigorously constructed architectural drawings. Later in the term, drawing work becomes increasingly experimental and self-driven, culminating in a drawing study of individual studio projects. The methods and concepts studied serve as a foundation for the development of drawings that consider the relationship between a drawing’s production and its conceptual objectives. Weekly readings, discussions, and drawing exercises investigate the work of key figures in the development of orthographic, three-dimensional projection and artistic expression. In addition, the course visits in Manuscripts & Archives, the Yale Art Gallery and the Yale Center for British Art to study drawing work in person. Ultimately, the goal is to engage in a focused and collaborative dialogue about the practice of drawing and different methods of spatial and conceptual inquiry.
