Concepts from architects’ minds evolve through sketches and as a mode of transference are conveyed to the finished building. This book compares qualities of sketches to reveal unique approaches to the instruments of thinking in which all architects engage. It provides new insight into the relationship between architectural sketches and the process of creative manipulation. Sketches comprise a thinking mechanism, and through the qualities of ambiguity, quickness and change, they initiate a dialogue for architects. As a medium to facilitate communication, recording, discovery and evaluation, their pertinence lies in their ability to exhibit both the precise and the imprecise. Exploring four related theoretical approaches, play, memory-imagination-fantasy, caricature and the grotesque, the book shows how imprecision stimulates imagination to conceive new forms in the dialogue of architectural sketches.

· Sketches from prominent architects, drawn from an international selection · A unique insight into how architects use sketches to develop and transfer complex concepts into physical form, enabling readers to improve the connection between their own ideas and designs · Reveals the secrets of the most successful sketching techniques used by architects for today's designers

This practical foundation course in architectural design offers key advice on the principles, practice and techniques of the subject. Dealing with much more than just the technical aspects of drawing, it introduces the reader to the visual language of architecture, encouraging them to think spatially and question the built environment. All architecture students, and anyone interested in the creative side of architecture, will find this book an invaluable tool and reference.

This comprehensive visual resource offers a truly breathtaking range of design-drawing styles and techniques. Combining clear, step-by-step technical instruction with an astounding array of illustrations, including work from such leading architects as Cesar Pelli, Michael Graves, and I. M. Pei, this one-of-a-kind reference is an outstanding source of guidance and inspiration for students and professionals at every level. Tool fundamentals * Lettering, typography, and line types * Orthographic and paraline drawing * Representational sketching * Linear perspective drawing * Perspective view development * Light, shade, and shadow * Delineating and rendering entourage * Diagramming * Conceptual sketching * 3D modeling * Presentation formats, and more RENDOW YEE has been an architecture educator for more than twenty years. He is a former Chair of the Architecture Department at the City College of San Francisco. "The encyclopedic scope of Mr. Yee's work is perhaps its most attractive attribute, from fairly esoteric subjects (such as descriptive geometry) to the most current themes (such as 3D modeling). It is rich in ideas and examples." -R. R. Davison, Jr. Associate Professor of Architecture Texas A&M University "The book brings a rich variety of multicultural information into one volume - national and international architects' projects, simple and complex building typologies, and both low-tech and high-tech design examples. It is instructive and informative at the same time." -Hiro Hata, AIA Associate Professor of Architecture State University of New York at Buffalo. "Architectural Drawing is a comprehensive and stimulating catalog of delineation techniques with step-by-step methods for constructing each kind of drawing. Examples are clearly presented and grouped in chapters according to drawing type. This book is a useful communication tool that has become a valuable part of my professional library." -Steven House, AIA House + House, Architects, San Francisco