A gallery of German architectural renderings from 1939-1937 by the great Hans Hartl and others.

Early Christian comparative plans Graphic History of Architecture by John Mansbridge

I could have scanned every page in this book. Ching's drawings are excellent, informative and are usually self-explanatory. As a resource tool for university, the book is useful in ways such as explaining how to draw doors, windows and materials correctly; but it is also useful in stimulating the creative mind in terms of layout, and of different ways of drawing the same scene. For instance, in the image below, Ching has shown the differences between hatching the foreground and hatching the background of the same section. It seems obvious now, but I never used to follow the section cut into the sub-terrain level when I used to draw sections, instead I just treated the building as an individual object, (wrongly) floating in space rather than in context with its terrain. Both drawings show the spatial arrangements of this building quite clearly, but the drawing at the bottom has the added benefit of using the hatch pattern in the background to act as the sun's path into the building, distinguishing the shaded areas and the areas receiving the most natural light. However by treating the foreground section cut as negative (white) space rather than the background as negative space, labelling text can only sit in the white space underneath the main building mass. It makes sense then to use the first image for labelled diagrams and the second image to show spatial arrangements. Ching also uses white space to highlight important areas within drawings. The drawing below shows the important part of the scene (which lacks hatching or shading) being framed by a dark foreground. I really have to try this contrasting light on dark drawing technique in future... I really admire it as a way of focusing in on an area of architectural or spatial significance: The light building on dark background also helps render parts of the scene as a sanctuary - a location you desire to arrive at. The dark areas in this simple sketch below imply stormy seas and grey skies. The house (I presume) below on the cliffs in the foreground already starts to look like a refuse from the unfriendly environment around it, just by the simple use of hatching. Ching also made me think about the use and positioning of trees in my designs. Before reading the book I would place trees in my designs without too much thinking about their location and the effects they would have on the environment and the people inhabiting the neighbouring spaces. The image above shows trees being used to 'define outdoor spaces' and to 'direct movement'. Why would I need to design boundaries to enclose an outdoor space when I could just plant a few trees? I'd much rather sit in an outdoor area bordered by trees or vegetation than one enclosed by (for instance) bricks and mortar! I learnt something from every page of Ching's book, so it's been hard keeping this blog entry short. But this last image shows something that's been weak in all of my presentations... people! I have always been criticised for not inhabiting buildings properly; using unsuitable silhouettes in peculiar positions, and not relating them to the environment in which they are placed. The people in this drawing all seem to relate to their environment. A figure is leaning against the wall, a woman has her hands over the edge of the balcony, and a man walks down the stairs. The figures on the top levels even appear interested in what's happening below them. These aren't silhouettes either - they are correctly proportioned, three-dimensional people. Silhouettes have their place in two-dimensional drawings such as sections or elevations but a three-dimensional drawing needs to be populated with three-dimensional people. I find it easy to relate to the people in the bottom level because the head heights are all on the horizon line, which is clearly shown. This seems to make it easier to draw the perspective correctly (by starting with the heads and drawing down) and ultimately making the scene more believable. I've placed an order for this book on amazon as it's definitely one for my bookshelf, not just a book I take out of the library every so often for inspiration.

Water Serpents I by Gustav Klimt. See it in colour here. Continuing the delve into back numbers of Deutsche Kunst und Dekoration, the German periodical of art and decoration. Yesterday’s post…

Tussen de hoge woontorens aan de Watersportbaan komt binnenkort een nieuw buurthuis met daktuin, een nieuwe hot spot voor de omwonenden.

A multi-award winning British design and architecture studio - buildings, spaces, master-plans, objects and infrastructure.

These amazing images are created by artist Dan Slavinsky, they’re architectural concept renderings. I absoloutly love these drawings, the style and line work which he has placed into his work…

The Big Bloom: Confronting Biophilia as an Urban Construct in Singapore Atmosphere and Agency Supervisor - Ms. Wu Yen Yen Singapore’s take on biophilic urbanism is an idiosyncratic one. We have gone to great lengths in establishing our City in a Garden mantle by planting many (exotic) trees, but this has morphed into the haphazard greening of building roofs, facades and even indoors, in the name of bringing people closer to nature. Our obsession with such conventions of nature, which has manifes

So what does this new dwelling look like? Well, of course, it could take endless form; but to provide a prototypical starting point, I created a series of designs using American housing typologies. By starting with the familiar, we can appreciate both the timeless and the contemporary--you can easily see what's new because the typical expression is well-known. These prototypes were designed to be broadly applicable, with suburban Chicago in mind--for lots slightly bigger than the Chicago 25x125. The starting point for passive design is orientation to the sun, so there are several types here: a Bungalow which can have east or west street frontage, a Cape Cod with south frontage, and a Georgian with north. In all cases, there is emphasis on indoor-outdoor flow (porches and raised bed gardens are consistent features), interesting spatial experience inside, and great natural lighting. Here's the bungalow type--traditional front porch with contemporary detailing and a green roof; traditional 2 bedrooms plus bath downstairs (back bedroom could be a family room or study open to the kitchen/dining), contemporary living and dining flow; traditional under-the-eaves second floor with contemporary master bedroom, laundry, and fourth bedroom or study. The roof lifts up to the south to let sunlight in, and the stairs and kitchen capitalize on the spatial opportunity: there would be a strong connection to the sky, but shading to keep sun out in the summer. The roof is durable metal, the siding stained cedar--warm and inviting. The walls are thick--comforting and super-efficient. Although it's just over 1,800s.f., the rooms are generous and the space and flow would be great. As with all these examples, it is designed to Passive House efficiency, which means it's comfortable and affordable to run, a truly sustainable prototype. And here's the Passive Cape Cod, sporting similar materials to the Bungalow. This type of house was common in 50's tracts, and it was during a visit to my cousin's house in St. Louis that made me see why: it's a simple, compact form that allows a lot of variation within an efficient shell...but the 50's ones are pretty stiff and self-contained. As a south-facing font door house, this one captures the sun in a dynamic entry space, and light is borrowed from that space into the central rooms (upstairs bath and downstairs hall). Like the bungalow, it has two bedrooms down and up--though again, bedrooms could be family/den/study rooms as well, so there is flexibility of use. And at about 1,500s.f., it's incredibly efficient and affordable. Finally, here is a house based on a Georgian 3-bay organization grid, but loosened up with corner windows and porches. The front door and porch are low-key to the north, while the living spaces and bedrooms open up to the south, and a screened porch to the west. Like the other two, it has laundry up by the bedrooms, metal roof, borrowed light to the interior; unlike the other two, this has a cement-board panel with cedar siding exterior palette and a full height second story with a vented attic (above R-90 to 100 insulation!). It's just under 1,800s.f., and again, would have a great feeling of spaciousness and indoor-outdoor flow. So that's a start on the road to the attainable, healthy, efficient house. I hope to build a lot of these.

how an architecture firm draws and the construction drawings of that architectural firm convey more information than just how to build something

Yoshiharu Tsukamoto – Atelier Bow Wow (Interview StudioBanana, Biennale de Venise 2012 Interviews de l’architecte japonais Yoshiharu Tsukamoto, Atelier Bow-Wow à l’occasion de leu…

For many of us, precision is demanded at our workplace. When we open a sketchbook, however, we can throw the rules out the window and create something unbound, free, and evocative. This was the thought process of visualization artist Albert Kiefer, who sought freedom from the realism of his daily work and found it in his childhood passion for sketching. He creates energetic architectural drawings filled with color and has built up an online presence under the name Housesketcher. In this online course, he teaches how to play with perspective and the contrast of light and dark. Learn how to create the foundations of your drawing with black ink before layering it with color and adding the precise details that bring it to life. Discover how to draw inspiration from your surroundings to create your own vibrant sketches.

These amazing images are created by artist Dan Slavinsky, they’re architectural concept renderings. I absoloutly love these drawings, the style and line work which he has placed into his work…

A striking new-build home has been given the go-ahead by planners in the Kent Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, under the highly-prized “Country House Clause”. Paragraph 79 of the National…

Lawrence Halprin // "possible wall for portland fountain"

There is a fine line between comics and architectural drawings, whether in their layout or drawing technique. What are the most important graphic novels that illustrate this interesting combination?

One of the great Japanese woodblock artists, Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950) was especially noted for his exquisitely detailed, evocative prints of landscapes around the world. His work is beautiful, subtle and often atmospheric, displaying a real mastery of his technique, which allowed him to capture the subtleties of light and form. Yoshida often reused the same woodblocks, varying the colours and saturation to suggest alternate moods of the same scene – a different time of day, or even different weather conditions. Initially trained as a painter (of some renown), Yoshida began working with woodblocks in the early 1920s, and after a meeting with the owner of the Watanabe Print Store in Tokyo he had his first series of prints published. The woodblock technique is notoriously time-consuming and difficult, but Yoshida seemed able to capture the most delicate graduations of colour and the tiniest details in a temple façade or mountain face. Yoshida was a keen traveller and visited numerous countries from the early 1900s onwards - his cosmopolitan attitude is reflected in the landscapes and studies he created in countries like India and America. The traditional Japanese techniques in his work applied to a changing foreign world at the beginning of the 20th Century make for some fascinating, unexpected images, which sit comfortably alongside his more elegiac landscapes. Whilst the world has changed almost immeasurably in the 50 or so years since Yoshida died, when viewed today, well-kept examples of his woodblocks still have a real vibrancy and warmth to them. Yoshida died in 1950 but his two sons Toshi and Hodaka both became respected woodblock artists in their own right, carrying on the family tradtion. In fact, since the mid-1800s the same Yoshida family - Hiroshi's forebears - has produced eight artists of serious renown – a veritable woodblock dynasty. Boat in dry dock, Kinoe Grand Canyon (Bright Variant), 1925 The Cherry Tree In Kawagoe, 1935 Obatan Parrot II, 1926 Yarigate, date unknown Yomei Gate, 1937 Taj Mahal, 1931 Taj Mahal, Night, 1931 Snake Charmers, 1932 Sketch of a Tiger, 1926 Kinkaku, 1933 Kameido Bridge, 1927 Iris Garden In Horikiri, 1928 Obatan Parrot, 1926 Icho In Autumn, 1926 Udaipur 1931 Early Morning, Fujiyama, 1928 Elephant, 1931 Eboshidake, 1926 Cryptomeria Avenue, 1937 Climbing Snow Valley, 1926 Cave Temple In Ellora, 1932 Breithorn, date unknown Avenue Of Cherry Trees, 1935 Konoshima, 1935 All images © Estate of Hiroshi Yoshida

Eric Wong’s vision of “a truly United Kingdom” is conveyed in the project “Cohesion.” Wong, a graduate of the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL, crafts a response to the Rockefeller Foundation's challenge to 100 cities to build stronger and more inclusive economies for the good of all.

Architectural drawings are supposed to demonstrate the process through which buildings are built - a graphic conversation between the architect and the builder. Today we are talking about wall types

John Pardey Architects’ (JPA) design for a £1.2 million contemporary farmhouse in rural Somerset has won planning permission