SotA Anthology 2015-16 | Page 29

ARCH321

image it neither depicts the
building nor shows much
detail or thought other than
a pretty bright image. Being
significant in the way it was
built, maybe it would have
suited the article to give the
reader an understanding for
the building construction.
The final image (see
below) is very different to
the others. Hidden at the
back, it is of the auditorium
which is the same sweeping
structure but in strips of oak.
It shows how they have
curved timber planks across
the whole room, yet there
is nothing that the reader
can learn from, nothing
that they can take back and
use within their own design
processes.
The two are very different
articles: they pose very
different ideals of the
architect. It has led me to
question whether it is the
architects’ doing or the
journal itself, but that cannot
merely be the answer for the
way we perceive architecture,
because “Architecture and
building are not the same”
(Ansari, 2013, p.82). The
image itself can be very

deceiving to the readers,
who probably seek the
ideal image of the room or
building, completely blind
to the text and the real
meaning of architecture.
“With drawing I’m not trying
to represent something. I’m
trying to make it real” (ibid.,
p. 80); I think this quote sums
up the ideals of having an
image, whether it be in any
type of form, even a model.
It is so that other architects
can understand and read
the architecture. When
the architect is producing
an image, they are merely
trying to design the space,
and this becomes a method
they can use to carry out
their design, like words in a
no vel. “There is a pleasure in
drawing, in letting the hand,
like an abstract instrument,
gather on the page what the
eye is selecting” (Miralles,
1996, p.7). We forget that
imagery, like a drawing,
is an expression. We only
see the beautiful colour
and enticing composition;
the whole reasoning behind
the photograph is forgotten,
and is probably why today
architecture is forgotten.

References
Ansari, I. (2013) ‘With drawings
I’m not trying to represent
something. I’m trying to make
it real’, Architectural Review,
No. 1395, pp. 80-89.
Davey, P. (1991) ‘PostSuprematist
Visions’,
Architectural Review, No.
1137, pp. 58-68.
Hunter, W. (2013) ‘Ideas and
Tools’, Architectural Review,
No. 1395, pp. 34-35.
Miralles, E. (1996) Works and
Projects, 1975-1995. New
York: Monacelli Press.
Olsberg, N. (2013) ‘The
Evolving Role of the Drawing’,
Architectural Review, No.
1395, pp. 36-43.

© All images Architectural Review.
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