With today’s increasing demand for sophisticated realistic rendering, it’s important to remember the root of architectural communication – hand sketching. Why? Computers have a lot of capabilities with regards to architecture, however, there are a handful of situations that sketching may be better! Although the list can be larger, we came up with 3 reasons that drawing is still an essential skill for architects to have.
1. Capturing and Processing the Design 
Sketches show your progression from brainstorming to concept development all the way through detail design. The beauty of hand sketches is that inspiration can arise at any given moment and can be captured with any media on any surface. Pen on paper, chalk on the wall, or coffee on a napkin! In fact, some of the greatest pieces of architecture started with a simple concept sketch on a napkin. Also, it’s a great way for clients, employers, and peers to understand how you design your project making great portfolio material.
While sketches are immediate documentation of development, they are simultaneously fleshing out your architectural concept. Physical drawings allow your brain the time to better understand your design decisions and visualize what your design could be.
2. Portfolio with Personality 
As I mentioned above, you get to capture your design process making hand drawings a great supplement to models and renderings. Hand sketches, particularly concept development, are not often seen in portfolios these days. These allow an employer to understand the creative process and how you arrived at your final design!
Sketches are a fantastic way to showcase your personality too! Nobody’s sketching style is the same and almost like an instantly recognizable signature. I never realized the amount of unconscious thought process that occurs when sketching! Your sketch can show whether you were confident in your lines, pressure in your media (line weights), and emotions. Be sure to check-in with yourself before sketching and see how that affects your drawing!
3. Time Saver and Effective Communication 
Developing designs by hand before drafting on the computer allows you to work out the kinks in your design. You can test different layouts or figure out a construction detail saving you time from having to draft multiple times. Softwares can make the iterative process faster, but hand drawing is like a rapid-fire of science experiments testing your concept. The constant decisions made through hand sketches may take 30 minutes compared to an hour(s) on a digital model or drawing.
Hand drawings are a huge benefit when you are mid-discussion with your team and clients! You can’t just pull up a rendering software or a digital model hoping that they would understand everything! Besides, the history of mankind has proven that drawing is an immediate and effective way to communicate ideas without speaking, so why stop now?
Do you agree that hand drawing is still relevant?
For those who didn’t know, we hosted a drawing competition a while back on Instagram! We asked followers to post their hand-sketched work and why they think hand sketching is important. You can find people’s submission on Instagram if you search the hashtag, #archihacksdraw2020
Sharing is caring – we hope that we were able to provide you with valuable insights! Let us know your thoughts, and share with someone who might find this useful!