REAL WORLD 1

I have been showing Transparent Drawings to my clients for about 4 years. As I have stated elsewhere, I am a practicing Architect. Some of you may be reading along and saying, ok while I get this, how practical is this really?  I am here to tell you that this is very practical and that your clients or professors will love it.

In the beginning, more or less by accident, I started to use the inherent transparency that watercolors provide. I started to draw three dimensionally in my sketchbook, and then applied watercolor tones so as to reinforce what I had drawn. I found that three dimensional transparent watercolor studies slows down my process and my thinking.  And that is a good thing.

Then I started to incorporate these same watercolor studies into the presentations that I gave to my clients. And the amazing thing was that everyone understood the drawings. Nobody said that it was confusing, or that they could not understand what I was communicating, or this is not realistic, or that you’re fired. Everyone seemed to get it and actually enjoy it. So it then dawned on me that if they do not object, then possibly there will be a wider meaning for Transparent Drawings.

The first studies that I make for a project are simply me thinking on a piece of paper without knowing the outcome. More on this theme here.  I start with a very fuzzy idea. Seeing the idea thru then increases my commitment to the original blurry inspiration.

The drawings that I have included on this page are just a few of the many similar studies that I did for the Bouchard Residence.  You can see what that built project ended up looking like at www.altonview.com/pages/BOUCHARD.htm   I did these drawings a couple of years ago.  I have shifted to a heavier watercolor paper since then.  These drawings were done on just regular sketching paper;  they did not take watercolors all that well.  This proves you can use just about any paper for your drawings.  And my approach to Transparent Drawing has evolved since then.  At least let’s hope it has.  Nevertheless, I feel that these drawings are explanatory of a real world application.

I typically study the site with this type of transparent drawing shown above.  The lime green color represents the trees.  Their site was densely wooded and sloping.  I used a study like this to begin to understand the cuts that might be made in the tree fabric so as to reinforce the design concepts.  This also permits the study of sun orientation and views.

Then I might study the volumes and the interior spaces very roughly in a sketch like the one above.  As you can see, the exterior and interior volumes are being studied simultaneously.  Although the interior walls were not arranged like this, it would have been interesting if they could have been.

By combining the tree cuts with the general forms, I was able to further understand their interrelationship.  In this drawing, the arrangement of the interior spaces, the exterior form, and the site fabric are all addressed.

I typically do many, many studies like these for a typical project.  These studies show a macro view of the process.  I have shown all of them to my clients.  The above drawing starts to communicate the interior spatial arrangements as well as the vertical circulation.

If anything, these real world drawings proves that you can have your cake and eat it too. If you are committed to your drawings and your ideas, then your clients will be also. Never think that your drawings are too rough or too conceptual to show your clients or your professors. Draw what you want.  Present what you want.  Have confidence in your ideas and you will be rewarded.