INTRODUCTION

'Drawing is the process or technique of representing something - an object, a scene, or an idea by making lines on a surface' . 1 For architects, drawing is the medium through which they communicate with the world, the medium to perceive architecture. Drawing is the tool for thinking and developing ideas; it is as valuable, as the incision is for a surgeon. The role of the drawing differs according to professions. For instance, a drawing for a builder provides a solution to a present problem, something that will be dead by the moment the builder gets back home. Nevertheless, the multiple roles and functions of the drawing is not what interests me for this essay. Using hand-drawing in the early stages of design, is what I want to focus on.

Hand-drawing used to be the essential tool to design architecture. This changed when in the 1960s, the first digital software was published to help designers save time and money. Since then, new technologies have been developed for designing and presenting architectural projects and as a result the role of hand-drawing has potentially become lost. Although I do not deny the benefits of the computer, I personally admire the value of hand-drawing, which is my choice for approaching a design. Using my hands helps me to think more carefully while drawing and translate my ideas from my mind to the paper more accurately for a variety of reasons, such as freedom, scale, speed and others that will be explained later on.

Therefore, my essay evaluates several questions, in order to get a clear understanding of the reasons that make hand-drawing essential during the design process as a medium of thinking. I

1 Francis D. K Ching, Steven P. Juroszek, Design Drawing, (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1998), p. 1

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question why I find it easier to transform the image from my mind to the paper when drawing by hand and how this happens. With a short scientific analysis I explore the hand-eye coordination and their relationship with the brain. I then examine the term design, since it is a word with multiple meanings. Frequently, the word is used to describe what's on the drawing, yet on other occasions it is used as a synonym to the word drawing. Therefore, I develop a possible understanding of the definition of the word design, in order to be able to describe hand-drawing as a tool for perceiving it.

The essay is divided in three chapters; the hand, the design and the hand-drawing. The first chapter examines the coordination system of hand-eye-brain through a scientific and philosophical point of view. The second chapter investigates the meaning of design since the 20th century, when design joined the liberal arts. The third and main chapter of the essay is based on the conclusions made during the research in the prior chapters. It explains why handdrawing is the essential tool for thinking and observing and for developing and creating architecture. The research follows a historical, philosophical, scientific and personal approach, as being understood by writers such as Juhaani Pallasmaa, Adrian Forty, David Dernie, Robin Evans, Brian Edwards, Christine MacKenzie and Thea Iberall

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