Drawing Matters
Learning in a material world is different from learning in a digital world, but students are increasingly more comfortable, dependent and, somehow more interested in the digital world. In architectural education, drawing and model making which were once the vital tools for architectural thinking are being quickly replaced by digital tools, and most recently, by 3D digital tools which are similar to “gaming” platforms.
In my studio (BA Architecture at CSM) I insist on making drawing and model making central to the design practice, arguing that the translation of ideas from one’s brain and guts to their hands is different, freer and more direct, than the translation through a digital platform, which has its limitations, specific language and parameters, and works as a filter. But this insistence feels more and more like a personal battle instead of a pedagogical approach. And that is why I chose the reading Drawing laboratory: Research workshops and outcomes (Salamon 2018) for Workshop 1.
The article starts by confirming that, nowadays, drawing is presented to students at CSM as a voluntary pursuit, something not integral to the curriculum, and viewed as less essential. It then goes on to present and reflect on the ‘Drawing Laboratory’ experience that took place at CSM in 2015, which consisted of a series of independent workshops set up to explore the connection between the physical act of drawing and the encoding and retrieval process of human memory.
Based on this experience, the author concludes that the act of drawing supported participants of the ‘Drawing Laboratory’ to generate new creative content and approaches to their project work. And that indeed, it served as a mechanism for observing and measuring the act of remembering, arguing that when used to make sense of the world, drawing is a powerful tool that can help us to engage with and register reality in unique ways (Salamon 2018).
The reading was reassuring. The battle continues.
Reference:
Salamon, M. (2018) Drawing laboratory: Research workshops and outcomes. [online] Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal. Available at: <https://sparkjournal.arts.ac.uk/index.php/spark/article/view/99/175> [Accessed 17 Mar 2025]