Walk through any foundation design studio and you will likely hear at least one student ask, “Why do I need to learn how to draw?”
This is a fair question when you stop to consider that many design students arrive in college or graduate school pre-programmed with knowledge of multiple digital drawing technologies like AutoCAD, Google SketchUp, Revit, 3D Studio Max, and Photoshop.
To successfully develop a unique and responsive design solution, that is to fully understand the design problem, a designer must challenge existing assumptions and form new conclusions as s/he evaluates the strength and weakness of multiple responses through an iterative process.
Each of these may be alternate responses to an original assumption or may represent a unique approach to the design problem.
While the quantity of “design responses” will vary for each designer and with each project, the ability to quickly generate and visually evaluate responses (individually and simultaneously) is essential in the investigation of a critically unique design response.
We believe this process can only be accomplished through hand drawing.