Michael Graves: In Defense of Drawing

© Michael Graves, Denver Central Library

In his Op-Ed for The New York Times, called “Architecture and the Lost Art of Drawing,” American architecture legend Michael Graves laments the loss of drawing in our computer-dependent age. While Graves realizes the usefulness of computer technology to present a final product, he maintains that the act of sketching (particularly those first, fleeting “referential sketches”) is vital to the process of design:

“Architecture cannot divorce itself from drawing, no matter how impressive the technology gets. Drawings are not just end products: they are part of the thought process of architectural design. Drawings express the interaction of our minds, eyes and hands. This last statement is absolutely crucial to the difference between those who draw to conceptualize architecture and those who use the computer.”

Do you think the art of drawing is actually lost? Is drawing vital to the work you do? Or has technology become so sophisticated that it has “rendered” sketching unnecessary?

Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Story via The New York Times

About this author
Cite: Vanessa Quirk. "Michael Graves: In Defense of Drawing" 03 Sep 2012. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/269529/michael-graves-in-defense-of-drawing> ISSN 0719-8884

You've started following your first account!

Did you know?

You'll now receive updates based on what you follow! Personalize your stream and start following your favorite authors, offices and users.