Skethbook: A Collection of My Experiences Abroad

Introduction

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St. Peter’s Dome over the Tiber

This is Me

Location: Rome, Italy Note: This is one of my favorite sketches because it captures a mood. It is a sketch drawn just before dusk as the sun sets behind St. Peter’s. I saw this view every day as I walked across Ponte Sant’Angelo and it never got old. I figured, I need to solidify this view in my mind so that I never forget it, so I drew it.

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Introduction...

Hi, My name is Andrew Sauers and I am going into my final year as a student of Architecture at Thomas Jefferson University. theSanta following ChiesaIndi Maria della Pace pages, you will see the collection of sketches Rome, of Italy I’ve accumulated over theLocation: past semester my Architect: Pietro da Cortona experiences in Europe.

Note: I love this church so much that I decided to make it the subject of my final project for Architecture of the City. So, I attempted to Why is sketching important to me? understand the spacial relationship of the Church, the facade, and Bramante’s Cloister.

Sketching is important to me because it is aOn the left, I sketched a 3 point perspective viewofofa the church accompanied by a few diagrams explaining way for me to solidify theaerial memory specific the facade.

Then, I created a series of perspectives documenting the moment in time. Making the decision to sketch sequence of experiences through the complex. Finally, I created a forced me to immerse myself in the present.

By plan-section-axon that attempts to cut open the church and cloister revisiting the sketches I drew, I could emmedii to show more spacial relationships. The challenging part about that ately revisit my memories. drawing was understanding how an axon behaves when you jog a Amsterdam, Netherlands section through it.

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Sant’Agnese in Agone Location: Piazza Navona Architect: Bernini Note: I tried to capture how the church sits in line with the facades that surround the piazza.

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Bramante’s Cloister Location: Santa Maria della Pace Architect: Bramante Note: I tried to understand the spacial relationship between plan and section.

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Santa Maria della Pace Location: Near Piazza Navona Architect: Pietro da Cortona Note: I tried to capture the partially hiden facade tucked within the dense urban fabric.

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A Quiet Street at dusk Location: Just North of Piazza Navona Note: A romantic sketch depicting the charm of a narrow cobblestone street in Rome.

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Entry of Palazzo Taverna Location: Palazzo Taverna Note: An attempt to link the perspective and plan of the entrance of Palazzo Taverna (where I studied).

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Palazzo Farnese Location: Piazza Farnese Architect: Michelangelo Note: Considered the “Dice of the Renaissance,� it is considered one of the best examples of Renaissance principles of symmetry and equilibrium. I was fortunate enough to visit the inside which is very difficult since it is home to the French embassy. Only one class in from all the Universities in Rome gets permission to visit each year.

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Villa Farnesina Location: Trastevere Architect: Peruzzi Note: It is located across the Tiber from Palazzo Farnese and was the summer residence for the the family. It includes a beautiful garden and frescos depicting the Italian countryside.

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Campidoglio Location: Capitoline Hill Architect: Michelangelo Note: This is me walking up Michelangelo’s famous ‘ramp-stairs.’ Definitely exhausting and definitely not ADA.

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Campidoglio Location: Capitoline Hill Architect: Michelangelo Note: I plopped myself down here before one of my classes. The main struggle of this sketch was figuring out Michelangelo’s pavement pattern.

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Sant’Ivo alla Sapienza Location: Adjacent to Piazza Navona Architect: Borromini Note: This is one of my favorite churches in Rome. It is by the master of the Baroque, Borromini, and features a beautiful spiral cupola. The cloister that I sat in to draw this is also gorgeous and served as the first University of Rome.

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San Giovanni de’ Fiorentini Location: At the end of Via Paola Architect: Borromini and Maderno Note: This church is special to me because it is framed by so many view corridors. My attempt here is to show the facade interupted by the various cornices of the street leading up to it.

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Chiesa dei Santi Celso e Giuliano Location: Via del Banco di Santo Spirito Architect: Bramante Note: I saw this church every day walking across Ponte Sant’Angelo. It has beautiful ornamentation, but it is extremely dirty with a yellow-brown tone. It sits in line with the street facades and is a little hidden gem.

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The Pantheon Location: Pantheon Architect: Hadrian Note: It is unknown how the pantheon was actually built. It’s masive coffered dome and giant granite columns imported from Africa are a testament to the grandure of the ancient Roman Empire.

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St. Peter’s Dome Location: Vatican City Architect: Michelangelo Note: I wanted to focus on the dome, since it is the tallest landmark in Rome and can be seen from miles away. Also, it has a personal importance to me, representing the greatness of God.

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The Tempietto Location: Trastevere Architect: Bramante Note: I kind of stumbled upon this little masterpiece.

I was taking a lovely stroll along the hillside of Trastevere that overlooks the city and that’s when I ran into it. I remember sitting in front of the Tempietto drawing it and an architect from England was sitting next to me so we started talking. He was also there to admire the famous peice of architecture.

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Santa Maria della Pace Location: Near Piazza Navona Architect: Pietro da Cortona Note: In this version of Santa Maria della Pace, I was testing out a new stroke style. I wanted to control my shade and shadow with only vertical lines. The result was a sketch that made the effect of a rainy day.

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Campo dei Fiori Location: Campo dei Fiori Note: I drew this when as I was sitting on the statue in the middle of the piazza.

I was eating my lunch consisting of a prosciutto e mozzarella panino from Baccanale and a peroni beer. As I was sitting there, an older British couple sat next to me and we had a quick chat about their vacation in Rome and my studies too.

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Trajan’s Market Location: Ancient Roman Forum Architect: Trajan Note: This was a drawing I did during my class trip to Trajan’s Market. The challenge of this drawing was understanding a curved corridor in perspective with a vaulted ceiling.

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Santa Maria dell’Orazione e Morte Location: Via Giulia Architect: Fuga Note: This was a quick sketch. I just tried to depict how the church was framed by this quiet street.

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Sagrada Familia Location: Barcelona Spain Architect: Antonio Gaudi Note: What an amazing cathedral. I was excited to draw this building with pen because I knew I could get sloppy with it.

It was like drawing a big drizzle castle.

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Sagrada Familia Location: Barcelona Spain Architect: Antonio Gaudi Note: I drew this from the rooftop of a hotel we visited. We drank Sangria and enjoyed the beautiful view. We were directly behind the apse of the church, so we could finally see it in symmetry.

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Via Giulia Location: Via Giulia Architect: Michelangelo Note: I liked how Michelangelo’s bridge framed this road. It is one of my favorite streets in Rome for its quiet beauty.

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Alleyway Location: Palazzo Taverna Note: I tried to capture the grittiness of this narrow alleyway. The tall skinny buildings create a caverness effect in the space.

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Castel Sant’Angelo Location: Castel Sant’Angelo Architect: Hadrian Note: I drew this one as a night seen because of the many nights I would walk home from studio and see the comforting tan glow of this building. I have a love/hate relationship with this bridge though because of all the tourists.

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Castel Sant’Angelo Location: Castel Sant’Angelo Architect: Hadrian Note: I drew this one as a night seen because of the many nights I would walk home from studio and see the comforting tan glow of this building. I have a love/hate relationship with this bridge though because of all the tourists.

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The Colosseum Location: Ancient Roman Forum Architect: Built under the rule of Emporer Titus Note: I tried to capture the repition of the outer collonade. I did this by starting out with pen and then drew the shadows in with pencil to give it depth.

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Mideval Rooftops Location: Orvieto, Italy Note: This was a sketh I did of a class trip to Orvieto. Orvieto was a mideval town that is built on volcanic stone. I felt like I was going back in time especially when I smelled the smoke from the wood furnaces. I remember it was pouring that day, but I thought it was one of the most beautiful places I visited in Italy. This is a view over the rooftops on a dreary day.

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Mideval Rooftops Location: Orvieto, Italy Note: This was a sketh I did of a class trip to Orvieto. Orvieto was a mideval town that is built on volcanic stone. I felt like I was going back in time especially when I smelled the smoke from the wood furnaces. I remember it was pouring that day, but I thought it was one of the most beautiful places I visited in Italy. This is a view over the rooftops on a dreary day.

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St. Mark’s Basilica Location: Venice, Italy Architect: Contarini Note: I tried to capture the depth of the facade of St. Mark’s in Venice. I first sketched in pen and then went over in pencil to define the shadows. It was a rough sketch with a wiggly line style but I think it fit the character of venitian architecture.

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St. Mark’s Basilica Location: Venice, Italy Architect: Contarini Note: I tried to capture the depth of the facade of St. Mark’s in Venice. I first sketched in pen and then went over in pencil to define the shadows. It was a rough sketch with a wiggly line style but I think it fit the character of venitian architecture.

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Venice Waterfront Location: Venice, Italy Note: I tried to capture the romance of venice in this sketch.

The rough surface of the watercolor paper helped me acheive a soft effect that I think well represented this view at dusk.

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Venice Waterfront Location: Venice, Italy Note: I tried to capture the romance of venice in this sketch.

The rough surface of the watercolor paper helped me acheive a soft effect that I think well represented this view at dusk.

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Venice Canal Location: Venice, Italy Note: Venice is interlaced with bridges that arch over the canals. It is just enough head space for the gondolas to pass beneath. The buildings are decorated with an ecclectic mix of window sills. They effortlessly plunge into the water leaving no room to walk but a small sliver of pavement. There are no guard rails in venice, so step carefully...

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St. Marks’ Basilica Location: Venice, Italy Note: Location: Venice, Italy Note: This is pencil sketch of St. Marks in Venice. It is an attempt to show the relationship of the facade and the dome. The domes in venice are very unlike the ones in Rome. They are much rounder and feel a little quirky, but that’s just me. I guess it fits in with the eccentricity of the city itself.

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The Spanish Steps Location: Rome, Italy Note: This is a quick sketch of the Spanish Steps from the street.

The street is usually extremely busy with shops lining either side.

At dusk, the street gets very dark, but at the end of it, the Spanish steps glow in the setting sun.

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Casa Mila Location: Barcelona Spain Architect: Antonio Gaudi Note: This was a quick sketch of Gaudi’s Casa Mila.

We visited it at dusk and I was kind of rushed by the people I was with so that is why it is so wild. My intent with this quick one was to just get the shade of the facade that curves and unjulates.

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Barcelona Cathedral Location: Barcelona Spain Architect: Miguel Girona i Agrafel Note: I did this when I took a long stroll into the Gothic Quarter in Barcelona. I ran into this church and was amazed by the gothic ornament so I decided that I had to draw it. I think pen was a good choice for the linework because I could be more precise.

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Santa Maria della Pace Location: Rome, Italy Architect: Pietro da Cortona Note: This is once again Santa Maria della Pace. I visited this church quite a few times because I loved it so much. Here, I tried implimented the pen/pencil style but I screwed up the perspective and scale a little. The scale figures are too small and the vanishing point is too high so its as if the viewer is hovering over the street. I learned a lot from this sketch because it was so wrong.

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Sant’ Pau Location: Barcelona, Spain Architect: Lluis Domenech i Montaner Note: This beautiful complex was located right across the street from our airbnb and faces the street leading to Sagrada Familia. I drew this while lounging at a restaurant with some churros and a cappucino. This is the first of a two part series. I wanted to show how the street frames the view.

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Sant’ Pau Location: Barcelona, Spain Architect: Lluis Domenech i Montaner Note: So this is the second part of the two part series. This is a close up of the very symmetrical front facade of Sant’ Pau. Here, the buildings no longer frame the complex but the trees do. I tried to fade out the tone of the pencil to reinforce the central focus of the composition.

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Sant’ Pau Location: Barcelona, Spain Architect: Lluis Domenech i Montaner Note: So this is the second part of the two part series. This is a close up of the very symmetrical front facade of Sant’ Pau. Here, the buildings no longer frame the complex but the trees do. I tried to fade out the tone of the pencil to reinforce the central focus of the composition.

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Piazza del Popolo Location: Piazza del Popolo Note: This was a familiar site in the beginning of the semester when my roomates and I would take a run to nearby Villa Borgehse. The beautiful piazza has streets connectin to it in a ‘trident’ configuration. The central road seen in this picture leads to the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument.

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Piazza del Popolo Location: Piazza del Popolo Note: This was a familiar site in the beginning of the semester when my roomates and I would take a run to nearby Villa Borgehse. The beautiful piazza has streets connectin to it in a ‘trident’ configuration. The central road seen in this picture leads to the Vittorio Emanuele II Monument.

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Val-Gardena (The Dolmites) Location: The Dolmites Note: This is the cabin we stayed in when we went skiing in the alps. The town was called Val-Gardena and our cabin overlooked the town. It was a beautiful alpine town where half the people spoke Italian and half spoke German. The most amazing part was when we went skiing and took a gondola over the mountainside and into the ‘bowl’ which was a massive expanse of tree-less mountaintops. This was where we skied and I think it‘s still the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.

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Val-Gardena (The Dolmites) Location: The Dolmites Note: This is the cabin we stayed in when we went skiing in the alps. The town was called Val-Gardena and our cabin overlooked the town. It was a beautiful alpine town where half the people spoke Italian and half spoke German. The most amazing part was when we went skiing and took a gondola over the mountainside and into the ‘bowl’ which was a massive expanse of tree-less mountaintops. This was where we skied and I think it‘s still the most beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.

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Ara Pacis Museum Location: Rome, Italy Architect: Richard Meyer Note: We were asked to analyze this building through sketch and try to understand the relationship between Meyer’s unitized systems. I realized that the building’s units were based on the Ara Pacis (a momumental altar dedicated to Pax, the Roman goddess of peace). The building is situated along the Tiber right in front of the ancient Mausoleum of Augustus. It has the typical Meyer characteristics of a modern white building, but some say that he was not sensitive to traditional Roman architecture that is typically earthtone.

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Ara Pacis Museum Location: Rome, Italy Architect: Richard Meyer Note: This is a continued analysis from the last page of the Ara Pacis Museum.

Here, I’ve more clearly identified the building grids in plan and section as well as showing a basic site section.

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Chiesa di San Rocco Location: Rome, Italy Architect: Giovan Antonio de’ Rossi Note: Another implication of Meyer’s design of the Ara Pacis Museum was the fact that it was blocking this historic church. He really did nothing to respect the church and in essence built a giant wall that completely dimished the importance of it. Through this exercise I learned that even the most renowned architects have design flaws and they are making decisions that are not always in everyone’s best interest.

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Chiesa di San Rocco Location: Rome, Italy Architect: Giovan Antonio de’ Rossi Note: Another implication of Meyer’s design of the Ara Pacis Museum was the fact that it was blocking this historic church. He really did nothing to respect the church and in essence built a giant wall that completely dimished the importance of it. Through this exercise I learned that even the most renowned architects have design flaws and they are making decisions that are not always in everyone’s best interest.

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Via del Quirinale Location: Rome, Italy Note: This was the piazza we visited next to what is considered the White House of Italy. Here, I was trying to show the relationship of teh buildings to the obelisk in the square. Also, I provided a little site plan to reference the view.

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Portrait Sketch Location: Rome, Italy Note: I drew this shortly after my visit to Barcelona. While in Barcelona, I visited the Picasso Museum and got inspired so I made this sketch of a woman. I had attempted to make her finger seem like it was tapping on her face as if she was contemplating something. However, I was a to heavy with the strokes and so now it just looks like she has 7 fingers. I still like it though, even if it wasn’t exactly what I intended.

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The Pantheon Location: Rome, Italy Architect: Hadrian Note: This was a portion of my board for the midterm of my Architecture of the City class. We went into the Pantheon and tried to document it as best as possible. I remember it was a nasty, cold, rainy day and I was miserable. Anyways, in the top picture I had to distort the perspective pretty severly because I wanted to show the oculus as well as the ground in the same view. The bottom image is just a basic section axon showing the obilisk and surrounding building context.

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The Pantheon Location: Rome, Italy Architect: Hadrian Note: This was a portion of my board for the midterm of my Architecture of the City class. We went into the Pantheon and tried to document it as best as possible. I remember it was a nasty, cold, rainy day and I was miserable. Anyways, in the top picture I had to distort the perspective pretty severly because I wanted to show the oculus as well as the ground in the same view. The bottom image is just a basic section axon showing the obilisk and surrounding building context.

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Santa Maria Degli Angeli (Baths of Dioclesian) Location: Rome, Italy Architect: Michelangelo Note: This is Santa Maria Degli Angeli and its adaptive reuse of the Ancient Baths of Dioclesian. In this spread, I’ve included a perspective of the central nave, a sketch of a chapel pediment, a general axonometric, and a section perspective of the transversal nave. The beauty of this church is the amazing light quality from the giant thermal windows and massive vaulted ceilings.

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Chiesa di Santa Maria della Pace Location: Rome, Italy Architect: Pietro da Cortona Note: I love this church so much that I decided to make it the subject of my final project for Architecture of the City. So, I attempted to understand the spacial relationship of the Church, the facade, and Bramante’s Cloister. On the left, I sketched a 3 point perspective aerial view of the church accompanied by a few diagrams explaining the facade. Then, I created a series of perspectives documenting the sequence of experiences through the complex. Finally, I created a plan-section-axon that attempts to cut open the church and cloister to show more spacial relationships. The challenging part about that drawing was understanding how an axon behaves when you jog a section through it.

Santa Maria Degli Angeli (Baths of Dioclesian) Location: Rome, Italy Architect: Michelangelo Note: This is Santa Maria Degli Angeli and its adaptive reuse of the Ancient Baths of Dioclesian. In this spread, I’ve included a perspective of the central nave, a sketch of a chapel pediment, a general axonometric, and a section perspective of the transversal nave. The beauty of this church is the amazing light quality from the giant thermal windows and massive vaulted ceilings.

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Santa Maria Degli Angeli (Baths of Dioclesian) Location: Rome, Italy Architect: Michelangelo Note: This is Santa Maria Degli Angeli and its adaptive reuse of the Ancient Baths of Dioclesian. In this spread, I’ve included a perspective of the central nave, a sketch of a chapel pediment, a general axonometric, and a section perspective of the transversal nave. The beauty of this church is the amazing light quality from the giant thermal windows and massive vaulted ceilings.

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Chiesa di Santa Maria della Pace Location: Rome, Italy Architect: Pietro da Cortona Note: I love this church so much that I decided to make it the subject of my final project for Architecture of the City. So, I attempted to understand the spacial relationship of the Church, the facade, and Bramante’s Cloister. On the left, I sketched a 3 point perspective aerial view of the church accompanied by a few diagrams explaining the facade. Then, I created a series of perspectives documenting the sequence of experiences through the complex. Finally, I created a plan-section-axon that attempts to cut open the church and cloister to show more spacial relationships. The challenging part about that drawing was understanding how an axon behaves when you jog a section through it.

Santa Maria Degli Angeli (Baths of Dioclesian) Location: Rome, Italy Architect: Michelangelo Note: This is Santa Maria Degli Angeli and its adaptive reuse of the Ancient Baths of Dioclesian. In this spread, I’ve included a perspective of the central nave, a sketch of a chapel pediment, a general axonometric, and a section perspective of the transversal nave. The beauty of this church is the amazing light quality from the giant thermal windows and massive vaulted ceilings.

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Ospedale S. Spirito Location: Rome, Italy Note: I drew this on one of my last days in Rome. I had been wanting to draw this building for a while because I loved the repeting arches on the portico. I thought it was a church since it was so close to the Vatican, but I later found out that it was a mideval hospital. Graphically, I was trying to make the church appear out of nothing as it gets closer to you. The closer it gets, the more color and detail I added.

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Ospedale S. Spirito Location: Rome, Italy Note: I drew this on one of my last days in Rome. I had been wanting to draw this building for a while because I loved the repeting arches on the portico. I thought it was a church since it was so close to the Vatican, but I later found out that it was a mideval hospital. Graphically, I was trying to make the church appear out of nothing as it gets closer to you. The closer it gets, the more color and detail I added.

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St. Peter’s Dome over the Tiber Location: Rome, Italy Note: This is one of my favorite sketches because it captures a mood. It is a sketch drawn just before dusk as the sun sets behind St. Peter’s. I saw this view every day as I walked across Ponte Sant’Angelo and it never got old. I figured, I need to solidify this view in my mind so that I never forget it, so I drew it.