THE ART OF MEASURED FIELD DRAWING

Friday May 6, 2022

11:00 am – 2:00 pm

*Limited to 20*

The Front Façade of the Byron White Courthouse

1823 Stout St, Denver CO 80257

REGISTER HERE

$50 ICAA Members, $60 General, Free for Students

3 AIA CES Learning Units | Elective

3 Credits towards the Certificate in Classical Architecture (Measured Drawing)

One of the best ways to study precedents - to become better acquainted with composition, scale and dimension - is through observation and drawing in the field, in direct contact with original models. Two time- tested field techniques for studying architectural precedents are analytical and measured drawing in sketchbook. These are principal means through which architects have historically advanced their skills and knowledge. Studying details, buildings and places analytically, reveals ways in which precedents are continuously adapted through time to new programmatic and regional conditions.

The focus of the continuing education class will be on analytical and measured drawings of exterior classical details, drawn to scale in individual sketchbooks. The course will consist of an overview on the history of architect’s measured drawings and discussion of measured drawing methodology for the study of buildings and the adaption of precedents. A demonstration and individual drawing will follow. The course will conclude with a review of participants sketchbooks and a concluding discussion. *See registration link for additional information and materials list.

Measured drawing by Palladio

“I set myself the task of investigating the remains of the ancient buildings…and finding them much worthier of study that I had first thought, I began to measure all their parts minutely and with the greatest care. I became so assiduous an investigator of such things that, being unable to find anything that was not made with fine judgement and beautiful proportions, I repeatedly visited various parts of Italy and abroad in order to understand the totality of buildings from their parts and commit them to drawings” 

         A Palladio,(1508-1580) Forward to Book I, The Four Books on Architecture

In many of the great works in Architecture there is an sublimity of thought, a fertility of invention, and a boldness of design, which exalted minds alone could produce…..The Student …..should not only reflect on what he has read in his study but he must, from actual mensurations taken by himself, make finished sketches of such structures as are most valuable; he must closely meditate upon the original purposes for which they were raised; he must consider how far situation and materials influenced the architects these structures. The mouldings, the ornaments, the most minute details, must not escape his observation…

         Sir John Soane (1753-1837): Royal Academy Lectures I and XII

History provides a wealth of material that the architect can draw upon to inform the design for any new building. In the classical tradition new buildings draw on a legacy of work which in turn they enrich and transmit to successors. In this role, the study of history for the architect is the study of precedents, with the practical aim of building a compendium of successful solutions for ready reference when addressing similar problems of composition in contemporary design. The more extensive an array of precedents an architect has in their toolbox, the better equipped to design a sound and enduring solution.

Two ever present challenges the architect wrestles with are the composition of a design and the calibration of the appropriate scale and dimension of the elements that make up the composition as they relate to the human scale. This is true at all scales - whether the architect is determining an appropriate composition and scale for a neighborhood block, a town square, a street, the height of a building, the size of a room, the dimension of a door, or the mouldings that hold together its panels. When working within the classical language this extends to investigating how the elements have been inventively adapted for a myriad of related considerations - climate, regional character, function, technology, building type, economy, craftsmanship, tectonics and suitability of material.

One of the best ways to study precedents - to become better acquainted with composition, scale and dimension - is through observation and drawing in the field, in direct contact with original models. Two time- tested field techniques for studying architectural precedents are analytical and measured drawing in sketchbook. These are principal means through which architects have historically advanced their skills and knowledge. Studying details, buildings and places analytically, reveals ways in which precedents are continuously adapted through time to new programmatic and regional conditions.

This course will present a method of sketchbook drawing that is focused on accurately measured and analytical drawings of accessible architectural details, drawn-to-scale in a sketchbook. This course will emphasize orthographic drawings of plan, section, elevation and profile.

The course is intended for both students and seasoned architects, as drawings can be tailored to experience level.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

    1.      Learn about the use of measured, analytical and perspective sketchbook drawing as a design tool and resource from the Renaissance to the present day.

    2.      Learn techniques for architectural measured drawings, accurately drawing them to scale in a sketchbook.

    3.      Expand architectural design skills through familiarity with architectural precedents that can be inform future architectural design endeavors.

    4.      Develop a sensibility for size, scale, proportion and composition through measuring and documentation. 

    5.      Inspire a lifelong passion for sketchbook drawing.

COURSE PRE-REQUISITES

1.    No specific artistic training is required.

2.   Basic pencil drawing and drafting skills are recommended including knowledge of the use

      of an architectural scale.

3.    A passion for classical architecture and a love of drawing.

MATERIALS

Required 

1.    Sketchbook; hardbound (+/-) 8” x 10”, stitched binding so the book can open flat, (Strongly recommended; Moleskine Art Collection A4 Sketchbook, 8.25” x 11.75”). 

2.    12” triangular architects scale, with 1/8”, 1/4”, 3/4”, 1 1/2” and 3” scales.

3.    Tape Measures; (recommended, 25’ Stanley Powerlock, and Lufkin 6’ folding wood rule)

4.   Mechanical pencil with 0.5 HB lead. (Alvin Draft/Matic or similar)

4.    Wooden drawing pencils, H, HB and 2B leads. (Recommended; Towbow Mono)

5.    Pencil Sharpener; (Recommended), Blackwing Longpoint or similar)

6.    Eraser; (Recommended Tuff Stuff Eraser Stick or Alvin Vinyl Eraser or similar)

7.   Drawing Stool, (optional)

REQUIRED TEXTS:

No Required texts, instructor will provide handouts prior to the course.

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

Measured, Analytical and Perspective Drawing:

·    Aslet, Clive and Quinlan Terry. The Revival of Architecture. Chapter Three, The Roman Sketchbook,

    (pg.’s 23-32). London: Viking, 1986.

·    Chatham, Robert. Measured Drawings for Architects. London: The Architectural Press, 1980.

·    Clark, Kenneth. “The Genesis of Measured Drawings; Suggestions as to the Means and Method

of Their Preparation”. Pencil Points Reader, Selected Readings from Journal for the Drafting Room. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2004.

·    Curtis, Nathaniel Cortlandt. The Secrets of Architectural Composition. Mineola: Dover Publications.

    2011.

·   Desgodetz. Antony. Les edifices antiques de Rome dessinés et mesurés très exactement. Paris. 1682. Reprint:

    The Ancient Buildings of Rome. Translated by George Marshall. London: 1771-1795.

·    Dowling, Elizabeth Meredith. American Classicist; The Architecture of Philip Trammell Shutze. New York: Rizzoli, 1989. Chapter 1.

·    Guptill, Arthur L. Drawing and Sketching in Pencil. Dover 2007.

·    Historic American Building Survey. HABS Guide to Field Documentation. www.nps.gov/hdp/standards/HABAGuideFieldDoc.pdf 

·    Lounsbury, Carl. The Chesapeake House; Architectural Investigation by Colonial Williamsburg. Chapter 3, Fieldwork. 2015.

·    Massimillano, David. Ruins of Ancient Rome; The Drawings of the French Architects Who Won the Prix de Rome, 1786-1924. Paul Getty Museum, 2002.

·    Morehead, Singleton Peabody. Sketchbooks. Colonial Williamsburg Foundation: 1929

    (Unpublished)

·    Puppi, Lionello. Palladio’s Drawings. New York: Rizzoli, 1990.

·    Stuart, James and Nicholas Revett. Antiquities of Athens. New York: Princeton Architectural Press, 2008.

·    Terry, Quinlan. Architects Anonymous. Academy Editions. 1994.

·    Terry, Quinlan. Kingswalden Notes. Pentagram Papers 16. 1989.

·    Smith, George Saumarez. A Treatise on Modern Architecture in Five Books. The Bardwell Press.
2013.

    Book IV, Measured Drawing, pp 101-134.

·   Smith, George Saumarez. Sketchbooks; Collected Measured Drawings and Architectural Sketches. Triglyph Books, 2021.

·   Varon, David Jacob. Indication in Architectural Design; A Natural Method of Studying Architectural Design with the Help of Indication as a Means of Analysis. New York: The William T. Comstock Company,

   1916.

·    Wallace, Philip B. Colonial Houses: Philadelphia, Pre-Revolutionary Period. Architectural Book Publishing Co. 1931

·    Waterman, Thomas Tileston. Sketchbook of Details of Buildings Located Primarily in Virginia but also in

Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, West Virginia, and England. Library of Congress, Washington DC. 1927-40. (Unpublished)

·    Westfall, Carrol William. Architecture, Liberty and Civic Order: Architectural Theories from

    Vitruvius to Jefferson and Beyond. Surrey: Ashgate. 2015

·    Whitehead, Russell F. and Frank Chateau Brown. Editors. White Pine Series of Architectural

     Monographs. Reprinted as Architectural Treasures of Early American Series. 1987.