Architectural Drawing 2016
15–20 August 2016

The workshop is aimed at students, artists and practitioners who are intrigued by the ‘drawing’ element in design thinking. The workshop includes making a lot of drawings, working with both landscapes and ideas found in the Drawings Collection. The Collection includes a vast range of work by famous and obscure architects, designers, draughtsman and artists from the 16th century until today, for example, original sketchbooks, sketch material and models by Alvaro Siza, Superstudio and James Gowan. The collection affords the opportunity to study these drawings first hand and use them as active participants in the discussions. Programmed events include a day in Bath, following the itinerary of Peter Smithson's Bath: Walks within the Walls, and an early evening visit to Stourhead gardens.

I drew today and I drew it over again and I re-drew it. I went around the site and then I walked all the way from south to north and then I walked from north to the centre of the site. Then I wandered in between the buildings and drew spaces. Then I reevaluated what I drew. 

– Hallam Tucker

Leafing through some of the sketchbooks, one feels very close to the consciousnesses of the people who made them, and after the week one has the feeling, in a way, of having spent time with these people too.

– Bernard Brennan

Talking about the sketches was for me a very intense and at the same time a very important part. By speaking about the drawing itself, one is obliged to look at what one has actually drawn.

– Joris Birla

…after a few days I discovered that drawing could be a way of discussing certain details or observations.

– Amandine Ischer

The fact that we changed scene from Shatwell farm to Stourhead and Bath have made me think about the similarities between different kind of situations.

– Gustaf Hedberg

 …having informal access to sketchbooks from distinguished architects and artists allowed us to think beyond the grandiose 'finished' scheme and allowed us to think more about the working process. It was interesting to see what role drawing played in this process and in what way these early drawings influenced the character of the built work.

– Sam Little

A brave inconsistency of paper left on either side. A demonstration of control over the paper. Getting out of the comfort zone. Questioning our automatisms. Perhaps giving the material and placing of the drawing a higher status than the drawing itself. Introducing intentionality. Differentiating the intention from ability.

– Kimberley Berney

On the final afternoon of the summer school there was an informal presentation of the workshops collective production, hosted by the Hauser and Wirth gallery and arts centre in Bruton. The event was open to the public and included a small group of invited guests – architects, artists and journalists – to review progress.