'My perceptions on hand-drawing' by Simone de Gale
07 October 2021
An opinion piece by Simone de Gale, SGA, Chief Executive/Chartered Architect ARB RIBA
Given all the digital aids available, what is it with architects and the hand-drawn? We asked a number of practitioners to talk through a specific free-hand sketch of theirs and how hand-drawing in their practice reflects their attitude to making architecture.
This is an overview drawing of our Didi-Dighomi mini city project in Tbilisi, Georgia for 3,000 new homes, commercial, retail space and public parks, which is currently at government planning approval stage. We use sketches as a quick-thinking process to describe our concepts in full – both to the design team and our clients. We find sketching is highly effective and efficient at communicating, particularly our practice’s ethos of mathematical principles and pure geometries. We use exploratory drawing on a daily basis to communicate a specific attitude towards a project’s concept, aligning the team to focus particularly on the design principles and further develop our strategies towards realised visions.