D E S I G N M E D I U M
D E S I G N M E D I U M
Freehand sketching is an elementary part of all design phases that call for design, functional or construction-related decisions. It functions as intellectual preparatory work, which is repeatedly rejected and renewed until the pure drawing of the final version is produced using the methods of technical drawing.
The combination of a roll of sketching paper and pencil, a place to build models and the CAD program is the ideal workplace for the designing architect. Freehand drawing is particularly useful for spontaneous and creative work, as ideas can be put down directly on paper with minimal interruption to the flow of thought.
The increased use of CAD programs in the early design stages makes drawing styles seem more uniform and interchangeable. Designers subject themselves to the rules of the CAD system in terms of graphics, scale and norms, although the sketch is in fact graphically independent, without scale and non-binding. A gap that apparently can no longer be closed is opening up between the architect’s understanding and his hand, as something that is virtual – the design – is also being produced virtually.
Later design phases, too, throw up problems that call for new ideas, variations and improvements. Freehand sketching and drawing can also use a greater degree of detail and a different scale to arrive at solutions and can therefore accompany a project right up to its completion.