“I prefer drawing to talking. Drawing is faster, and leaves less room for lies.”
Le Corbusier, Architect
- Drawing…the language of architects, the means by which ideas are explored and things imagined are captured on paper.
- Where you are considering structural alterations to your space – for example, opening up between two rooms, removing walls, extending, etc. – drawings are an indispensable tool in pinning down how exactly those thoughts might translate into reality.
- And so, when discussing such possibilities with clients, I soon reach a point at which I say…enough talking, let’s get drawing!
- I start by drawing what’s there, preparing a freehand, scaled sketch of the existing floor plan using dimensions taken on the spot with the assistance of the client.
- This plan can be used to analyse the existing house including both its positive and negative aspects.
- The plan is then overlaid with sketches exploring different options for the new layout, including where fixed elements such as kitchens, bathrooms and storage might be, how rooflighting might be brought in, how furniture might be laid out etc.
- This is, perhaps, the most exciting stage of the design process, seeing possibilities emerge on paper.
- I believe in drawing lots, including things that I think may not work: things viewed from a different viewpoint can spark fresh ideas and trains of thought.
- I tell clients to “trust” the drawings: if something looks right on paper, it will work in reality.
- Formal architect’s drawings can be inhibiting, especially at an advanced stage, with lots of text, dimensions and technical symbols.
- Make sure at each stage of the design process to ask for a clean/unmarked set of drawings so that you can tell what space configurations are being proposed. Ask for the walls to be coloured in for clarity, if necessary.
- Never fear asking for clarification about any aspect of a drawing if you are unclear!
- Buy a scale rule – they cost a few euro – and learn how to use it so that you can be truly informed as to what is being proposed on your behalf.
- Most house plans and drawings are prepared at a scale of 1:50, meaning that a line measuring one unit on the drawing represents one metre in reality.
- It is so exciting to see on paper how your existing space might be transformed………..
