Drawing Matter Drawing Workshop
Most architecture students study precedents on a screen. Ours held them.
About the visit
Architecture students visited Drawing Matter, a drawing archive that holds over 20,000 original architecture drawings, sketchbooks, and models from some of the most important practitioners in history. The students had a rare chance to study original source artefacts up close. The visit supported the architecture students’ course work, providing access to precedents of design proposals and drawing techniques that they can apply directly to their own projects.
The Workshop
The visit was structured as a drawing workshop, where students could study drawings up close and learn by drawing. In the first part of the session, students explored the archive on their own. Drawing Matter is unique in that they encourage interacting with the archive, which meant students were able to touch the drawings and hold them up to examine without wearing any gloves. Students were then asked to select a drawing to further study.
Students were then given time to examine the drawing carefully and redraw their chosen piece from memory. The exercise challenged students to reflect on what is important to them in the drawing and helped students learn from the primary sources.
Following the drawing exercise, Rosie Ellison-Balaam, a curator from Drawing Matter led a group discussion about each drawing that was selected. Students learned about the history of their drawings and learned how their drawings were in dialogue with each other and their significance in the architectural canon.
Learning in Action
Students learned from observing, drawing and discussing from primary sources.
Key benefits for students included:
- Students learned architectural history from engaging with rare, primary sources. They had rare access to all the primary sources on a single table, where students could understand how the history of each piece of architecture, from Superstudio to Rem Koolhaas to Zaha Hadid, was in dialogue with each other.
- Students were able to see some of the original precedents they studied in class in person and apply what they learned from the precedents to their own design projects for class.
- Through Drawing Matter’s collection of sketchbooks and sketch drawings, students could see the design process and how architects use drawings to think through problems.
Student perspective
“My experience at drawing matter was overwhelmingly positive. The archives’ extensive library of unique, interesting, and often rare, drawings was impressive. Examining the sketches, drawings, and models from famous architects like Zaha Hadid or firms like Superstudio taught me that architectural drawings can be artistic and expressive, whilst still being informative.”
“The trip to Drawing Matter was highly enriching and a real privilege. The collection of over 20,000 artifacts included a vast array of extraordinarily famous pieces as well as lesser-known works that still proved to amaze. More notable among the artifacts were the Jørn Utzon Sydney Opera House concept model, The Psychogeography Map of Paris created by the Situationists group, a model of Le Corbusier’s “Open Hand” Monument, and other works from the likes of Frank Lloyd Wright, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas / OMA, Richard Neutra, Aldo Rossi, Oscar Niemeyer, Paul Rudolph, and many others.
Not only was the visit historically fascinating but it also ties directly into the work actively being done at NU London for our Architecture courses. Many of the pieces stored at the collection were ones we had already become closely familiar with, and the methodology in the creation of these works are insightful for producing our own work. Overall, I am extremely grateful to have been given the opportunity to explore the collection and it will stick with me as I move forward into my architectural career.”
Faculty perspective
“Drawing Matter’s collection was truly impressive! We are incredibly grateful to have had the unique opportunity to view original copies of drawings we have read about and studied in class. Seeing the curated selection sparked broader discussions on our relationships with drawings: how do we communicate with different audiences? How do the materials and technology we have access to influence how we draw? How do we channel who we are into our work? All of these questions are ones we should explore in our practice as designers.”
“The workshop at Drawing Matter was a unique experience for our London Scholars, who had a chance to explore the history of architecture, from the Renaissance to the contemporary, through rare, original drawings. It was wonderful to see students’ curiosity about the drawings and the rich discussions that emerged.”
Northeastern University London is a charity
registered with the Charity Commission for
England and Wales (charity number 1189858).
Location
Devon House
58 St Katharine’s Way
London E1W 1LP, UK
+44 20 7637 4550
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