Challenge or engage existing paradigms

Like many postmodern visual arts over the last 30 years, architectural drawing has sought to challenge or engage existing paradigms. It has sought to obfuscate or blur the norms of didactic representation through inversions, transgressions and multiplicities of scale, thickness, clarity, measure, shading and composition. The drawings in this show are not very alike, there is no ur-drawing, but they do share a common role culturally in that they all lie between the conventions of architectural drawings and the terms of exploration and engagement of visual arts. While many students of architecture are familiar with this kind of exploration, it is more uncommon for such exploratory work to be counted among an architect’s practice. The works shown here are all from architectural practitioners who include exploratory drawing as part of their practice, and identify and push their practice through this medium. These drawings are not often shown.