1. ArchDaily
  2. Drawings

Drawings: The Latest Architecture and News

Lina Bo Bardi’s Relationship with Drawing Explored by the Fundació Joan Miró’s Exhibition

The Fundació Joan Miró presents Lina Bo Bardi Drawing, the first exhibition to focus specifically on the role of drawing in the life and work of the Italian-born Brazilian architect.

The exhibition features a carefully selected collection of a hundred drawings from the Instituto Lina Bo e P. M. Bardi, bearing witness to the importance of drawing in all the stages of Bo Bardi’s multifaceted career. The project has been curated by another architect, Zeuler Rocha Lima - also an artist, researcher, and international expert on Bo Bardi - with support from the Fundació Banco Sabadell.

Lina Bo Bardi’s Relationship with Drawing Explored by the Fundació Joan Miró’s Exhibition - Image 1 of 4Lina Bo Bardi’s Relationship with Drawing Explored by the Fundació Joan Miró’s Exhibition - Image 2 of 4Lina Bo Bardi’s Relationship with Drawing Explored by the Fundació Joan Miró’s Exhibition - Image 3 of 4Lina Bo Bardi’s Relationship with Drawing Explored by the Fundació Joan Miró’s Exhibition - Image 4 of 4Lina Bo Bardi’s Relationship with Drawing Explored by the Fundació Joan Miró’s Exhibition - More Images+ 10

A Selection of the Best Architecture Sketches: Alberto Campo Baeza

A Selection of the Best Architecture Sketches: Alberto Campo Baeza - Image 5 of 4
Asencio 1998. Image Cortesía de Alberto Campo Baeza

A Selection of the Best Architecture Sketches: Alberto Campo Baeza - Image 1 of 4A Selection of the Best Architecture Sketches: Alberto Campo Baeza - Image 2 of 4A Selection of the Best Architecture Sketches: Alberto Campo Baeza - Image 3 of 4A Selection of the Best Architecture Sketches: Alberto Campo Baeza - Image 4 of 4A Selection of the Best Architecture Sketches: Alberto Campo Baeza - More Images+ 25

Some time ago, I embarked on an internet research journey for a project centered on representation in architecture. My quest led me to peruse the websites of various architecture firms. While many of them passed quickly without leaving a lasting impression, a few captured my full attention. I delved into and appreciated the unique sensibilities of their authors, particularly their penchant for drawings and freehand sketches, which I had not previously encountered.

Within the vast landscape of these mental explorations, I stumbled upon Alberto Campo Baeza's drawing library—a discovery I enjoyed so much that I felt compelled to share it.

The Best Drawing Tutorials for Architects on YouTube

The slightly trembling linework, the distinctive crossed corners, the parallel hatching, and the uppercase letters: it is undeniable that architects have developed a style of drawing over time. And though free-hand perspectives are no longer the only (or even primary) form of representation for architectural projects, they still have enormous importance during the design process. They are a design tool rather than a form of representation. 

A line that is too thick, an ill-chosen color, a disproportionate scale figure – these are all elements that can draw attention away from the things we actually want to show. Even for an unpretentious and quick sketch, some rules are very important. Some tips help turn an ordinary sketch into something you take pride in and want to show to others. Taking advantage of the huge collection of youtube videos, we have selected some content creators who dedicate themselves to sharing their expertise with the masses. 

Herzog and de Meuron Donate Selection of Works to MoMA

Over 40 years of practice, Herzog + de Meuron have established themselves as one of the most celebrated practices in architecture. Their works span scale and site but are united by a sensitivity to material and detail that, today, often seems to fall by the wayside. The inner workings of the practice are notoriously private, but those interested in the process behind the project may soon have reason to celebrate.

Herzog and de Meuron Donate Selection of Works to MoMA - Image 1 of 4Herzog and de Meuron Donate Selection of Works to MoMA - Image 2 of 4Herzog and de Meuron Donate Selection of Works to MoMA - Image 3 of 4Herzog and de Meuron Donate Selection of Works to MoMA - Image 4 of 4Herzog and de Meuron Donate Selection of Works to MoMA - More Images+ 6

The Best Architectural Drawings of 2018

With the mission of providing tools and inspiration to architects all around the world, ArchDaily’s curators are constantly searching for new projects, ideas and forms of expression. For the past three years, ArchDaily has showcased the best discoveries of each year, and in keeping with tradition, we would like to share the best architecture drawings published throughout 2018.

What is the role of contemporary drawing in architecture? We approach the definition of drawing as design itself. Drawings are used to explain principles, to deliver ideas, to construct new architecture, and to document creative processes.
Below you will see the selection of drawings arranged under six categories: Context, Architectural Drawings, Sketches & Hand-drawn, Digital Collages, Conceptual Drawings & Diagrams and Animated Gifs. Each chosen drawing strengthens the proposed construction or enhances the built work.

We also invite you to review collections from previous years here or other drawing-related posts selected by our editors in the following link.

A Selection of the Best Architecture Sketches: Rogelio Ruiz Fernández

An active ArchDaily collaborator, architect and doctor Rogelio Ruiz Fernández, has emerged as a great enthusiast of cinema, architecture, cities and landscapes. He expresses his love for visual arts, architecture, and culture through his drawings. In these moments, he documents trips, his favorite locales, and project ideas that will later become works of architecture.

Below, Ruiz Fernandez explains his creative process and the importance of sketches in his work. 

Tips For Drawing Trees in Architectural Renderings

We all have that childhood memory of drawing a little house with a door and a window, a gabled roof, and a tree. But what sets architects apart from the rest of the population is that we continue to draw this after childhood, usually with a bit more technique. And just as our residential designs were becoming more complex and complete, the design of our trees needed to improve a bit as well (that broccoli-like shape would not please customers and teachers alike.) Although generally, trees are not the main focus of drawings, they play an important role in the composition of sketches, mainly to represent the scale, intended shading, or some intention of landscaping.

Understanding and Using Architectural Scales

The work of an architect and urban planner can take on many forms thanks to the diverse curricular composition of most graduate courses, with subjects that deal with designing in different scales and contexts. From great urban plans to home renovations, and the metropolis to furniture design, these branches deal with different objects, however, all in common are the use of drawing and models as a tool for representation.

Whatever the project may be, drawing is the way to represent reality, ideas, speculations, and conceptions. Scale, a factor that establishes the level of reading one must make of these representations, determines the link between the real world and the dimensions of the drawing or model. For instance, the scale 1:1 is also known as “full size.”

Understanding and Using Architectural Scales - Image 1 of 4Understanding and Using Architectural Scales - Image 2 of 4Understanding and Using Architectural Scales - Image 3 of 4Understanding and Using Architectural Scales - Image 4 of 4Understanding and Using Architectural Scales - More Images+ 11

Split-Level Homes: 50 Floor Plan Examples

Faced with the challenge of designing homes on terrains with steep slopes - or in compact urban contexts that do not allow much variation in plan - several architects have experimented and proposed split-level homes to enhance the use of space, allowing, among other things, interesting visual perspectives.

These variations can be seen in numerous examples published on our site. Below, we have selected 50 examples that can help you in your next project. 

Hospitals and Health Centers: 50 Floor Plan Examples

A floor plan is an interesting way to represent and approach the functional program of hospitals and health centers, where the complexity of the system implies the need for specific studies of the distribution and spatial organization for proper health care.

From our published projects, we have found numerous solutions and possibilities for health centers and hospitals depending on the site's specific needs.

Below, we have selected 50 on-site floor plan examples that can help you better understand how architects design hospitals and health care centers.

World Architecture Festival Calls for Entries for 2018 Architecture Drawing Prize

In partnership with Make Architects and Sir John Soane’s Museum, the World Architecture Festival (WAF) has announced the call for entries for the second edition of The Architecture Drawing Prize. Launched in 2017, the prize is conceived to celebrate and showcase the significance of drawing as a tool in capturing and communicating architectural ideas.

The Architecture Drawing Prize embraces the creative use of digital tools and digitally-produced renderings, while recognising the enduring importance of hand drawing. The organisers invite entries of all types and forms: from technical or construction drawings to cutaway or perspective views – and anything in between.

The Importance of the Section in Architectural Representation and Practice

Architectural comprehension as a field deals with representation as a synthesis of varied efforts —constructive, compositional, spatial, and technical qualities— which are then articulated in the constructed building. For this purpose, it is essential to think about the graphic representation that presupposes all these efforts, since it is both a procedure and a product of architectural design.

These Competition-Winning Drawings Explore the Meaning of Island Utopias

Architectural print studio Desplans in collaboration with Library Illustrazioni have published the results of their architectural drawing competition titled “The Island: Between Utopia and Metaphor for Reality.” The competition asked participants to submit drawings and text interpreting the meaning of islands and utopias, considering “the double value inherent in the utopia” between aspiration and limitation.

The entries were judged by a jury of figures from Library and Desplans, with one winner and 12 honorable mentions selected. The winning entries were chosen with attention given to the relevance of the theme, dialogue between text and image, graphic research, and quality of reflection.

These Competition-Winning Drawings Explore the Meaning of Island Utopias - Image 1 of 4These Competition-Winning Drawings Explore the Meaning of Island Utopias - Image 2 of 4These Competition-Winning Drawings Explore the Meaning of Island Utopias - Image 3 of 4These Competition-Winning Drawings Explore the Meaning of Island Utopias - Image 4 of 4These Competition-Winning Drawings Explore the Meaning of Island Utopias - More Images+ 9

B.V. Doshi's Drawings Reveal the Identity of His Work

B.V. Doshi's Drawings Reveal the Identity of His Work - Image 5 of 4
Concept Drawing for Vidhyadhar Nagar Masterplan . Image Courtesy of Pritzker Architecture Prize

Balkrishna Doshi, also known as B.V. Doshi or simply Doshi, has been named this year’s Pritzker Prize Laureate. His extensive portfolio of educational, cultural, public administration, and residential projects is matched only by his contribution to architectural culture—from founding The School of Architecture at Ahmedabad (now known as the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology) to co-authoring the Habitat Bill of Rights, among others. Yet, his vividly illustrated conceptual drawings reveal as much, if not more, of the architect’s relationship with building, history, tradition, culture, and modernism.

B.V. Doshi's Drawings Reveal the Identity of His Work - Image 1 of 4B.V. Doshi's Drawings Reveal the Identity of His Work - Image 2 of 4B.V. Doshi's Drawings Reveal the Identity of His Work - Image 3 of 4B.V. Doshi's Drawings Reveal the Identity of His Work - Image 4 of 4B.V. Doshi's Drawings Reveal the Identity of His Work - More Images+ 6

Structural Design of Zaha Hadid's 1000 Museum Revealed in CAD Drawings

As Zaha Hadid Architects’ 1000 Museum residential tower in Miami continues toward its December 2018 completion date (tracked by this nifty countdown clock), the computer drawings for the structure have been revealed, showing the complex structure in section, elevation and detail.

Construction of the 62-story skyscraper is getting close to topping out as it rises past its neighbors on Biscayne Bay.

Check out the drawings below as well as the latest interior and exterior renderings in the gallery at the bottom of the page.

Structural Design of Zaha Hadid's 1000 Museum Revealed in CAD Drawings - Image 3 of 4Structural Design of Zaha Hadid's 1000 Museum Revealed in CAD Drawings - Image 7 of 4Structural Design of Zaha Hadid's 1000 Museum Revealed in CAD Drawings - Image 27 of 4Structural Design of Zaha Hadid's 1000 Museum Revealed in CAD Drawings - Image 28 of 4Structural Design of Zaha Hadid's 1000 Museum Revealed in CAD Drawings - More Images+ 28

Stellar Drawings Selected as Winners of WAF's Inaugural Architecture Drawing Prize

Stellar Drawings Selected as Winners of WAF's Inaugural Architecture Drawing Prize - Image 5 of 4
Hybrid: WINNER - Memento Mori A Peckham Hospice Care Home by Jerome, Xin Hao Ng. Image Courtesy of World Architecture Festival

The World Architecture Festival, with co-curators Make Architects and the Sir John Soane’s Museum, has announced the winner of the their inaugural Architecture Drawing Prize, established to recognize the “continuing importance of hand drawing, whilst also embracing the creative use of digitally produced renderings.”

From 166 entries from architects, designers and students across the globe, 38 of the best drawings were shortlisted within three categories: Digital, Hand-drawn, and Hybrid. From that list, commendations and a category winner were chosen, with the overall grand prize awarded to the year’s best drawing. Submissions were evaluated on technical skill, originality in approach and ability to convey an architectural idea, whether for a conceptual or actual building project.

This year, the overall winner was Momento Mori: a Peckham Hospice Care Home by Jerome Xin Hao Ng, produced as part of Ng’s final diploma project at The Bartlett School of Architecture, University College London.

“[The drawing is] a superbly conceived and executed perspectival view looking down through the building from roof level, praised for its technical skill and the sensitivity with which it depicted the spaces found in such institutions as settings for multi-generation social interaction,” said Jeremy Melvin, Curator of World Architecture Festival (WAF).

The 2017 World Architecture Festival will take place in Berlin from November 15-17. Learn more about the Festival and purchase delegate passes here. Use the discount code ARCHDAILY17 to receive 20% off. An incredible list of speakers including Alison Brooks, Charles Jencks, Pierre de Meuron and Francis Kéré will feature across 3 days from November 15th to 17th at the Arena Berlin, Germany. Conferences, city tours, lectures and critiques of the shortlisted projects from the 2017 WAF awards are among the events scheduled for the festival.

See the winners and shortlisted drawings below.

Stellar Drawings Selected as Winners of WAF's Inaugural Architecture Drawing Prize - Image 1 of 4Stellar Drawings Selected as Winners of WAF's Inaugural Architecture Drawing Prize - Image 2 of 4Stellar Drawings Selected as Winners of WAF's Inaugural Architecture Drawing Prize - Image 3 of 4Stellar Drawings Selected as Winners of WAF's Inaugural Architecture Drawing Prize - Image 4 of 4Stellar Drawings Selected as Winners of WAF's Inaugural Architecture Drawing Prize - More Images+ 33

30 Graphs and Charts to Boost Your Visual Presentations

Communicating ideas through imagery are central to the design process. In client presentations, site visits, or public exhibitions, we are required to represent important aspects clearly to the receiver, who is often not an architect. Furthermore, producing detailed architectural drawings can allow us to identify and modify certain aspects of the design. 

Diagrams and charts, because of their non-spatial characteristics, are often neglected until the last moments of the design process, however, they can be a useful tool for analysis and organization. Taking the time to think and articulate these elements yield positive results, from understanding and organizing a design process to providing an unexpected change of idea.

In an effort to enhance the graphics and diagrams in architectural representation, check out this series of case studies to help you boost the visual, analytical, organizational power of your work.

A Selection of Impressive Perspective Sections

The perspective section is an increasingly popular form of architectural representation, one that is most commonly used in architectural competitions since it allows a technical drawing to be mixed with an image, a section which allows one to easily express the qualities of the space designed in a two-dimensional drawing. Below, we have put together a selection of impressive perspective sections ranging from a realistic aesthetic to a line drawing by hand.

A Selection of Impressive Perspective Sections - Image 1 of 4A Selection of Impressive Perspective Sections - Image 2 of 4A Selection of Impressive Perspective Sections - Image 3 of 4A Selection of Impressive Perspective Sections - Image 4 of 4A Selection of Impressive Perspective Sections - More Images+ 8