Ep 150: Drawing Stuff

So here we are ... Episode 150, and I am a little surprised that I made it this far into this Life of an Architect experiment, but due to the support and interest we have received over the last 6 years, we find ourselves as what I believe to be a fairly significant milestone. When it came time to pick today’s subject matter, there was really on one topic that was up for consideration … Welcome to EP 150: Drawing Stuff! [Note: If you are reading this via email, click here to access the on-site audio player] [hoops name="top1"] Today we are going to be talking about "drawing stuff", and if you are wondering what that really means, you are in the right place because that’s what Andrew and I are going to try and figure out. There are all sorts of examples and references in today's post so this is a good post to earmark for future reference (if you're into that sort of thing). Life of an Architect and Drawing Stuff jump to 01:00 When I say “drawing stuff” to you, what comes to mind? Do you think there is some relevance to the fact that the question is framed because I said “drawing” and not “drafting”? I will confess that there is a difference for some, but not for me. I make drawings. I can draft them, I can sketch them, I can get on a computer and use software like Revit (well, I can’t use Revit), AutoCAD, or whatever your drafting software of choice might be. Drawing stuff can mean anything and in any software - I am just referring to visual communication and how we think and talk through ideas. I'd like to say that I don't think there is a wrong way to draw stuff - but we all know that's not true. Sketching, drafting, 3dmodeling, rendering, I've talked about all of it at one time or another but there are some particular moments that stand out for me ... Notable Blog Posts for "Drawing Stuff"  08:47 http://lifeofanarchitect.com/do-architects-draw-too-much/ It wasn’t that long ago that I could produce construction drawings for a 6-figure residential project in little more than a dozen sheets of drawings. The last one I worked on was quite a bit more as the architectural set having around 45 sheets to it. That is a 400% increase within the last 20-years. Once I add in the structural drawings, grading and drainage drawings, as well as the dedicated HVAC drawings, we will approach 60+ sheets in this set. What is going on? What is the reason for all the increased drawings? Is it the complexity of the projects? Maybe it’s because architects anticipate a contentious relationship with contractors? Maybe it’s the overly-specific design intentions that architects are wanting in our projects and we know that we can’t expect the contractor to read our minds?!? This entire post was a bit of a rant because things are starting to feel as if some residential contractors are punishing those of us that produce drawings that tell them how we want things done - that this makes us appear difficult and fussy when the exact opposite is the goal. http://lifeofanarchitect.com/design-process-redlines/ I might not always be a nice person and I like to complain as much as the next person but if there is one trait someone who visits this site with any regularity knows, I do like to be helpful. During the design process, this typically manifests itself as “redlines”.  For those of you that may not be familiar, redlines are typically created when architects make editorial notes on a set of drawings to convey changes that are needed to be made. This process typically occurs during the construction drawings phase, but I find that they are more helpful for how I like to work during the design development phase of the projects. Let’s take a look at some redlines I recently made (just click the picture about to be taken to a magical redline wonderland ...). http://lifeofanarchitect.com/sketching-is-hard/ I suppose the point of this "Sketching is Hard" post is that sketching is hard for most people – it’s hard for me – and it’s okay if you end up using other tools to help get you to your destination. I think the process of sketching definitely worked better for me at my last office when the scale of the things I was studying were of a much smaller scale, but I can still take my process with me and find a use for it now. Sketching is difficult for me and I don’t have a great deal of confidence in my abilities, but I struggle on because I think it’s important. I have a very narrow bandwidth of sketching skills where I am comfortable and with this change in jobs, I find that this bandwidth has just become a bit smaller. But that’s going to be okay because I will keep at it and evolve and grow my skill set, which is not a bad thing in any circumstance. As one of my college professors once told me, sketch until it hurts ... and then keep sketching. Notable Podcast Episodes 15:05 http://lifeofanarchitect.com/ep-147-draw-like-an-architect/ Drawing like an architect is one of my favorite topics to discuss, partly because it’s a topic that resonates with me, but also because it’s a topic that seems to garner the most interest from the people who end up on this website (and we like to provide some value from time to time and not just talk smack about leprechauns). There are so many additional considerations that we could add to this topic, like why sketching would be good for your career development, how this skill set allows you to communicate in real time with your clients, etc. but it is impossible to squeeze them all in to a single conversation. If you have an angle that you would like to share, or have us discuss, please let me know – I’m here for it! I hope this post inspires you to pull out your pens and paper and start sketching. http://lifeofanarchitect.com/ep-140-communicating-through-drawings/ Architecture is a visual craft. From the end product where people move through, in and about, to the beginning as students when we spend years in school learning to use different forms of medium to help explain our ideas. Drawings have always played a role in the process of study and discussion of what we do and why we do it. Today we are going to look at the different forms of drawing and talk about when they are used and how we align these different drawing types and the messages they convey. http://lifeofanarchitect.com/ep-117-graphic-matters/ There are a lot of different methods that are employed to create your graphics, and while this list is not exhaustive, this part of our discussion had more to do with the process of how you create your graphics rather than focusing on the manner in which those outputs will be used. There is no question where I stand on graphic matters – for an industry that relies on drawings to communicate our ideas and intent, our graphics matter. Knowing who your audience is will typically help clarify the format in which the message will be delivered, along with the purpose of that message, as there are different goals to be achieved along the way as the drawings evolve from schematic design to construction documentation (although that line is constantly being blurred, pun intended). What Does Drawing Look Like Now? jump to 41:15 If I think about the evolution of my drawing life, it’s pretty crazy how outdated where I started is compared to where we are at now. There is also the consideration that I have vastly different responsibilities at this point in my career. I basically don't draft anymore Hand-drafting in studio – life drawing, no real curriculum related to hand sketching even though it was something that manifested itself in studio, especially when it came to pin ups in studio for process check-ins. Started using DataCad about 3 years out of school and then switched to AutoCAD about 2 years later. What I find interesting is that during this period of my formative years, I wasn’t doing any sketching during this period, mostly because I was dreadful at it and I felt embarrassed to let anyone see what I was doing. I first turned a corner in my confidence – but only slightly – when I was traveling abroad and it was the main way that we captured information (example 1, 2 and 3). There were also a few people that I spent time with that I found to be inspiring they pushed me indirectly to try and improve. It wasn’t until I worked at a larger firm and was friends with someone who was amazing, and he taught me a few things that I started to make it a part of my workflow. I even took a class to help me understand how I could draw better using a few techniques. Even then, I was not prolific by any stretch and continued to hide what I was doing from others. I drew on sketch paper mostly, which had more to do with me being able to draw over something again and again to make it look presentable. Even then, pen weight became my best friend because moderately skilled use of pen weight can make the most humdrum of sketches look a lot better. Eventually, when I started working on residential projects in 2003, sketching became a daily part of my workflow – but only after I had used AutoCAD to block out my spaces and diagrams. I started drafting everything and would soften the look of the end product by hand sketching on top of a CAD drawing so that the work looked more “architectural” and more of a work in progress. I didn’t like the way CAD drawings looked during design presentations. Things found a sort of equilibrium for a while and things started to feel static and I stopped continuing to learn new techniques and software. I had a moment when this realization created a bit of a panic for me and this feeling is what led to me starting this website and writing what would become the the very first blog post titled "Who Wants to be Relevant?". Not sure that I have told that story before but it probably adds some context for the evolution of things that took place over the last 14 years.