Everyone can draw, even if they think they can't. John Ruskin claimed in The Elements of Drawing (1857) that, with hours of irksome practice, he could teach even the least promising would-be artist to draw; indeed, that he had 'never met with a person who could not learn to draw at all'. But as with so many other disciplines,it is essential to develop the skill with rigour and determination (rather as learning to play a musical instrument requires constant practice). Henri Matisse, a consummate draughtsman, achieved his amazing fluidity of line through sheer hard work. For a period in the 1930s he spent every afternoon drawing a model, and throughout his life remained dismissive of those who tried to emulate his style without enduring the necessary graft. Life drawing is often considered the best way to learn to draw, as we all share an understanding of the subject-in its myriad different variations-in front of us.
Across the design disciplines, drawing by hand has largely become a lost art. With powerful digital tools at their disposal, the majority of students and professional designers create landscapes, gardens and buildings while sitting at their computer screens, far removed from the spirit of the site they are meant to improve. But attitudes are changing.Spurred by creative boredom and a sense of being disconnected from their briefs, today's designers now seek a more immediate, more human connection with their projects. Understanding the sense of place is critical for any successful building project, and there is no better way to stimulate the imagination than by learning to draw what one sees and imparting spatial ideas by hand. Once one has conceived a design,conveying and executing this vision for clients is equally important.
Targeted at landscape- and garden-design students and professionals, this essential publication reintroduces the importance of learning to 'see by hand', to visualize large-scale design schemes and explain them through drawing, and demonstrates how doing so supplements digital drawings throughout the design process. Drawing for Landscape Architecture guides practitioners, through international examples, from their very first impression of a site, through concept and schematic design and client presentation to construction and site drawings, concluding with two case studies that show the final result.
Just as hand-drawing returns to design courses around the world,this book celebrates the best aspects of traditional techniques while incorporating them into today's digital design methods. This enriched approach makes for better design, happier clients and the most successful projects.
Introduction
1
Absorbing the landscape
Developing a vocabulary
Mark-making
People and spaces
Light and colour
Unlikely subjects
Artistic influences
Architectural rhythm
Line weights
Exercises in abstraction
Drawing scale
Leaf textures
Expressive line
Drawing plants
2
Drawing on site
Understanding the past
Streets and shops
An embassy garden
The urban context
Heat and light
Analysis sketches
From past to future
Beach landscape
A village garden
3
Drawing ideas
S ite-analysis studies
Analysing levels
Instant visual records
Views from above
A school and the London Eye
Planting plans
Ideas for planting
4
Plans, sections + elevations
Marks and textures
People and trees
Mixed media
Line weights
The influence of Nolli
Textured plans
Strategic plans
Hand-drawing and vector images
Coloured cartoons
Minimal colour
Sections and details
Architectural space
5
Perspectives
Black-and-white drawings
Sketch perspectives
Emphasizing a mood
Impromptu sketches
Drawing in meetings
Streets and public places
A seaside hotel
6
Isometrics
Different viewooints
Plantings for a large garaer
Landscape for education
Colouring on computer
Trees
Examining levels
People in landscape
7
Money drawings
Concept development
Use of bright colours
Sequential drawings
8
Construction details
The character of a site
Paving details
Bench design
Bollards and benches
Design for a skateboard cut
Screens for a residential development
Construction details for a college
Step details
Computer drawings
9
Completed work
St John's College, Cambridge
Brief and historical background
Sketch-plan options
Options for courtyards
Proposals
Levels and materials
Lighting studies
Microclimate analysis and planting
Planting design
Paving details
Gate details
Shop drawings
Completion
Coventry Peace Garden
Brief and historical background
Analysis and sketches
Eureka moment
Design development
Desire lines
Respect for the site
Corten steel
Choosing trees
Drainage studies
Stone bollards
Completion
Project credits
Further reading
Author's projects
Acknowledgments / Picture credits