Strangers-Neighbours / Process by Lin Derong

AR5951J DESIGNING DRAWING / STRANGERSNEIGHBOURS: AN ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY OF THE CRANES / PROCESS 2224 CRANE ROAD, SINGAPORE 429363 / BY A0111169M, LIN DERONG /

STRANGERS-NEIGHBOURS: AN ARCHITECTURAL SURVEY OF THE CRANES PROCESS FOLIO / CONTAINS WORKING SKETCHES AND WRITINGS FOR SURVEY DURING 13 JANUARY - 21 APRIL 2016 / BY A0111169M , LIN DERONG / UNDER TUTELAGE OF ROLAND SHARPE FLORES / SURVEYED FOR AR5951J DESIGNING DRAWING / UNDERGRADUATE YEAR 3, AY15/16 SEMESTER 2 / SINGAPORE TYLER PRINT INSTITUTE (STPI) x DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE /

MAPPING THE INFINITY - 90O EXPLODED AXONOMETRY / SLIK SCREEN PRINT ON 1.5MM ACRYLIC SHEETS, BASSWOOD ENCASED /

DRAWING IS ARCHITECTURE

Both authors Graves and Ghirardo center the discussion on the discourse

ideas, creative process et cetera. The very act of designing manifests

on drawing as architectural representation. They allude to what drawing

itself through the fundamental act of drawing or of making the esquisse

should be and could do. They further exemplified the instrumentality of

as Peter Zumthor advocates. They are instruments of communication

drawing by subtly implying that the drawing act itself is architecture.

where they manifest design ideas and concepts. For architecture students like us, they are representational tools to bring forth or even sell certain

In “The Blue of Aldo Rossi’s Sky”, Ghirardo reveals the role drawings

ideas and suggest a specific way of seeing.

and texts play in Aldo Rossi’s works, specifically in his project of San Cataldo Cemetery. Additionally, she also criticised existing discourses

Additionally, if built buildings are crystals of an architect’s work as Tim

and analytical methodologies on Rossi’s drawings and texts as myopic

Ingold observes, then drawings are crystals of an architect’s creative

and superficial. Whereas in “The Necessity for Drawing: Tangible

process and ideas. This echoes greatly as architecture students as

Speculation”, Graves categorises drawings into 3 main types – referential

well since most of our projects are non-realised. Referencing back to

sketch, preparatory study, definitive drawings – wherein each plays a

Graves’s argument, without drawing, it would be difficult to “employ in

specific roles in architectural conceptualisation. Within Graves’s title, the

the architecture the imagined life”. Similarly, in the case of Aldo Rossi’s

words “Tangible Speculation” suggests the potentialities of drawing by

scheme for the cemetery, the essence lies not just on the built, but

putting intangible thoughts on paper so as to be seen and evaluated. It

also on the multiple drawings and texts where Rossi’s concept and

serves as a basis of criticism and discipline which puts drawings as a

spirituality permeates. Drawings and writings are, for Rossi, instrumental

performative act of design.

in expressing and ultimately distilling his architectural ideas.

This value is embodied by the mass of works by Rossi. A single project

With that being said, on the whole, a single project is usually not based

by Rossi is usually accompanied by a multiple of generated accounts

on a single drawing or writing, but on composite instead. This resonates

of its meaning, which were important to him. According to Ghirardo,

with Graves’s fascination with diptychs – two panel paintings – where

many critiques ignored the richness and layers in Rossi’s works. Most

drawings depend on each other to tell the full narrative. In Rossi’s case,

are singularly focused and the drawing were analysed/ viewed as a

in order to attain a complete understanding of the scheme behind San

stand-alone entity. The critiques’ individual biasness in their respective

Cataldo Cemetry, it would be ideal and necessary to go through all of his

fields caused them fail to see the drawings beyond mere images. This

multiple representations of which he took great lengths to produce.

unfortunately reduced them to become superficial formal analysis. Therefore drawing provides a form of documentation of the design Oftentimes drawings convey more than they appear. Rossi’s drawings

development or of the entire project itself. This for me allows not only

are weaved with complexities and contexts. In the series of drawings

for architects to maintain clarity in the design process but also makes

referenced by Ghirardo, they are embedded with intentions and spiritual

it available for viewers to evaluate the project critically. Whether it is

elements where one could examine Rossi’s personal understanding of

drawing towards physical reality or drawing towards conveying expressive

death. One can also delve into Rossi’s thought process. Beyond this,

meanings, it is precisely for their qualities that Ghirardo referred to them

the drawings also poignantly reveal the wide range of ideas, events,

as elusive and enigmatic. Even though most people are capable of

elements and his Catholic background, which influenced how each

seeing it for reason or science, we must also recognise that they are a

drawing was represented – of his composition and what he included and

product of our imagination and perception.

excluded in them. In conclusion, the discourse on drawing boils down to answer the question These drawings are, in my opinion, highly speculative and open for

of what architecture is as both texts subtly alluded. Drawing is an architect’s

interpretation. This is in line with Graves’s theme of speculative drawing.

most immediate instinct. An architectural project rarely comes out of

However, if we were to utilize Graves’s model of the 3 drawing type, it

nowhere. Each design decision and development is a deliberation and

would be problematic to classify Rossi’s works for San Cataldo Cemetery.

recorded by drawing – beginning with pen and paper. This fundamental

The boundaries between the 3 types are blurred. One could argue that

act helps us negotiate through architectural complexities by allowing us

Rossi’s drawings are quantifiable drawings where it is the intangible

to maintain our naivety in seeing and therefore helping us delve deeper

experience that is being “quantified”, however, it is debatable. While

into meanings and what we are doing as architects.

Graves’s model organised the development of the act clearly, its linearity is questionable. Perhaps, even as Graves alluded himself, the act of drawing goes back and forth or lies in-between the virtues of imaginative

27 January 2016

projections and the objective technical drawings just like Rossi’s series. Drawing at this level, thus also serve as a platform to open for discussions and design explorations. It even would evoke new attitudes in seeing them beyond the objective. It has promise, aspirations and flexibility. Earlier as established in both texts, drawings should fire imaginations and encourage speculation. Prior to the built form of an architectural project, drawing acts as a locus of experimentation, conjecture and participation in the architectural discipline without recourse to building. On a two dimensional plane, it exposes the design intentions, concepts,

Reference Introduction - Drawing is Architecture, 130116 Ghirardo, Diane, “The Blue of Aldo Rossi’s Sky”. AA Files Vol. 70, 2015, p. 159-173 Graves, Michael, “The Necessity for the Drawing”. Architectural Design Vol. 47 No. 1, June 1977, p. 384-394

MAPPING THE INFINITY - THE AXONOMETRIC DRAWING

In Massimo Scolari’s Elements for a History of Axonometry, he examined

operated metaphorically. The reinterpretation of axonometry had

axonometric projections from an historical approach. He provided

attributed yet another characteristic of axonometric projections. In line

arguments against perspective and evaluated the usage of perspective

with Allen’s argument on the instrumentality of axonometry, one could

and axonometric projection through their historical evolutions and

argue that axonometric projections act almost like a “working drawing”

developments. Stan Allen on the other hand, expounded on the

of reality. They are descriptive and ideally should be always needed to

attributes and instrumentality of axonometric projections through its

supplement the “real” object and complete its meaning. This is to say that

objective representation of geometry. Both authors provided a discourse

the representation of architecture should not only provide a superficial

on axonometric projections and alludes its use back to its historical

and contingent picture of a building, but should also disclose its inner

development.

structure.

Scolari’s reference to Descartes criticised that perspective drawing does

Taking an analogy from the axonometric drawing of the Bauhaus Dessau

not shows “true size” of things. For example, “circles become lozenges”.

building, it is the drawing which reveals the building’s meaning and its

This inherent problem of measurement in perspective projection as Scolari

interesting aspects immediately to viewers. For anyone without access

alludes brings axonometry into light. In axonometric projections, it avoids

to the building, to attain an architectural understanding based solely

depth and thereby avoiding convergence. Hence it is possible to “see”

off the exterior would be difficult. In a certain sense, one could argue

the actual measurements of the geometry which “resembles” the object.

that the drawing no longer needs the actual object. With the avant-

Additionally, with reference to Erwin Panofsky’s essay, Perspective as a

gardes, the investigation of the means of representation i.e. drawing,

Symbolic Form, he opposed perspectival projections to another style of

takes precedence over realized buildings. What has been a means,

practice which was “dominant in the ancient and oriental world” – alluding

has become an end, and interestingly at the same time, a means as

to oblique projections, i.e. axonometry.

it is. Therefore, axonometric projection is not merely a useful tool for construction as mentioned earlier, but an example and a metaphor for the

Both authors described the utility of axonometric projections, however,

idea of construction which corresponds to the ideas from both authors.

Allen’s text instrumentalised it. He observed that axonometric projections are capable of mapping the infinity with its infinite extension of the visual

In brief, throughout the evolution of the use of axonometry, from the

field. This implies reversibility of depth and foreground that characterises

archaic use of axonometry, which was restricted to the mathematical

axonometric projection. This meant that as a representational tool, it

and technical sphere, to its revival by the 1920s avant-gardes where it

could bring about new concepts of time and new ways of viewing an

was aligned with concepts of modernism, the capacity of axonometric

abstraction of space. Its fluidity opens up for imaginability through parallel

projections greatly expanded in transforming “reality” and re-interpreting

or orthographic projection, where it allows viewers to position his/her

spaces.

eyes at any point, not based on a fixed plane. Both authors had also brought about the discussion of perspectives That being said, Allen’s text discussed the two school of thoughts on the

against axonometric projections. The two projections bring about a

use of axonometric projection. The first is from the Ecole Polytecnique.

Cartesian view of the world which is empirically being abstracted into

This is from the military/ engineering perspective. Axonometry projection

Euclidean geometry. From both texts, both authors seemed to disagree

provides precise information necessary for physical construction. Its

with the schematisation of empirical experience. Scolari had exposed

objectivity is of interest and drawings were needed to resemble the

problems with axonometry in his text while Allen laments its fixed uses

performative aspects of the objects depicted with clear instructions.

and underexploited potentials in the architectural discipline. Contrary to

Such aligns axonometry into the pragmatic realm with values of

perspective’s criticisms, axonometry, in archaic art, is almost a faithful

descriptive accuracy, in which Scolari referred to as “accredited status

reproduction of three-dimensional objects onto two-dimensional. There

of representation for engineering matters”. This aligns with the western

would be no alterations of the object size as they recede from the viewer

understanding of axonometry where drawing is a technique towards the

while lines remain in parallel. Such system does not describe objects as

pursuit of “truth” with quantifiable measurements.

we actually see them. At this instance, it is perspective projections that are “closer” to the way we form a mental image of objects.

The second is from the École des Beaux-Arts, which corresponds to an oriental and eastern understanding. Subjectivity, symbolism and

Axonometry and perspective were both systems of representation

composition is of central theme. Modes of representation differs from

that correspond to a way of looking at the world. They both had their

each drawings as they are tools to convey narratives. They are “means

equivalents in the other cultural forms of their time, for example, the

as it is” opened for interpretations, instead of “means as an end” in the

use of axonometry by the historical avant-garde cannot claim the same

western world.

status today.

These contesting views between western and eastern understanding and

The criticisms against perspective drawings by both authors (Allen’s

ideology of axonometric drawing technique exposes both the objective

reference to Lissitzky’s argument on perspective’s limitations) will not put

and subjective aspects of axonometric projection towards a formal and/

it in displacement by axonometry. It might perhaps be overly ambitious to

or conceptual reality.

represent everything in a single drawing using a single representational method. Both forms of projections have their unique values used by

In retrospect, both authors also mentioned that the avant-garde

various fields across history. Perspective drawings (and its subjective

architects were the primary push and motivation behind the recovery

point of view) is just as persuasive as it has ever been and it still dominates

of axonometry. Within the avant-gardes, science and mathematics

other fields of art and design. Therefore, axonometry, I believe, be it

objective, subjective or a synthesis of both, serves as a counter culture to the pursuit of this certain “truth”, which is dependent on the dominance of the artist’s/ architect’s and its spectator’s view of the world i.e. designer’s representational aims and the observer’s way of seeing.

3 February 2016

Reference Mapping Infinity - The Axonometric Drawing, 20.01.2016 Scolari, Massimo, “Elements for a History of Axonometry”. AD: Architectural Design No. 55, 1985, p. 73-78 Allan, Stan, Axonometric Projection, Practice: Architecture Technique + Representation. New York, NY: Routledge, 2009, p. 16-24 Alan Colquhoun, “Axonometry, Ancient and the Modern”, in Collected Essays In Architectural Criticisms, Black Dog Publishing: 2008, pp. 291-299

THE RHETORICAL FIGURE FRONTAL ELEVATION / RELIEF PAPER CONSTRUCTION AND MIXED MEDIA /

NOTING THE INTANGIBLE - RELIEF PLAN MAQUETTE / MIXED MEDIA COLLAGE /

NOTING THE INTANGIBLE X FRAGMENTS OF A NEW HOUSING LANGUAGE EXHIBITION

The drawings of Beyond The Screen by OBBA, presented in the

react, behave and appropriate in this building. It is the architect depiction

Fragments of a New Housing Language exhibition, provide a basis for

of a specific lifestyle. These drawing elements act as a survey to the

discussion with regards to its designed and surveyed drawings. In this

life inside beyond the construction of the building i.e. from the drawing

essay, these drawings will be examined through the lens of Belardi’s text

board, to the physical manifestation and finally to user’s occupation. This

“Why Architects Still Draw”.

is in contrary to the traditional sterile treatment of plans, which “shrinks”

Previously as alluded to in this course, drawing, itself, serves as a

urban situations and denies the “messiness” of life.

platform for discussions and design explorations. It evokes new attitudes in perceiving architecture and spaces beyond objective designs. In

These drawings thus serve to capture the temporality of the domestic

Belardi’s text, he engaged directly with the question as provoked by the

spaces where the interior realm opens up for unplanned designs,

book’s title. He argues that drawing, be it by hand or digital means, is

dependent upon user’s appropriations. Referencing to Belardi’s Y-axis,

an architectural survey that integrates the empirical (designed) and the

this also suggests that the architecture of the house exist as a palimpsest

subjective (surveyed). The act itself serve as an interface between the

of an occupant’s autonomy, time, decay and the vicissitude of life – as

idea and the work.

evidences of bodily traces overlay on top of one another.

Throughout the chapter, Belardi advocates about surveying the site

Furthermore, these drawings are computer aided and its sterile nature

in three fold: X: width, an exploration to draw what one knows but not

challenges the idiosyncrasy of life. This would include urban patterns

what one sees, Y: height, stratification with drawings as a palimpsest

and human behaviours to suggest how occupants appropriate and

and Z: depth, drawing that facilitates the interpretation and the working

use the spaces. At this point of the design process as exhibited in the

on individual perceptions. Belardi also cited examples and references

drawings, design has left the architect’s control. The drawings represent

not just from architecture but also from literature like Sherlock Holmes,

the transition from where the architect hands over the spatial control to

art et cetera. He argues for how drawing is not a passive recording but

the occupants as a series of layers. This implies that the architecture of

a moment of invention filed with creative possibilities. The act provides

the project is not just the completed building, but it is also the continued

a form of documentation of the project and they are like crystals to an

drawing which surveys “life” that sets in. The design of the building thus

architect’s creative process. The drawings in itself are supplements to

extends beyond the architect’s table to the user’s occupation and their

the building to complete their design intents.

subsequent spatial appropriations.

In Fragments of a New Housing Language, the drawings exemplify

This is in line with Belardi’s Y and Z-axis of stratification and depth of

Belardi’s arguments and specifically, in the example of Beyond The

interpretation. In its plan drawings, the activities were rendered in the

Screen, its plan drawings redefine what a plan is and what it could

drawings to suggest user’s presence. It adds an additional layer to

potentially do. In this project, the architects from OBBA sought to

the drawings which embodies a way of living and user’s lifestyle. It is

understand societal change and how these changes are brought into

manifested through appropriations and interior modifications.

the everyday banal. In this case, they proposed an alternative typology of multi-family living. Through the drawings, they suggest circulation and

This notion of the interior as developed by Charles Rice, suggest it as

spatial sequences – the objective, and they also suggest the perceived

the occupation of the house spatially and the creation of a mental image

domesticity within the interior realm – the subjective. With these two

of what is desired, which is “lived out” by imagination. This interior is

elements, the drawings synthesize the designed and surveyed aspects

developed as an architectural counterpart to the physical construction,

of the project.

ornament and the surface definitions of inside space. The drawings of Beyond the Screen in my opinion thus captures this notion of the interior which frames the domesticity. They are beyond documents of their physical attributes, but surveys of how it would be “lived-in”. Mid-way in the 20th century, Le Corbusier once said that the plan is the generator of architecture. Today, with the advent of drawing

Firstly, the building’s verticality is represented by the stair core and vertical

technology, there are even more possibilities of what plan drawings could

courtyard in the series of plan drawings of Beyond the Screen. This

do. In the drawings of Beyond The Screen, plans become survey drawings

challenges the traditional horizontality of plan drawings as the architects

which capture the domesticity of the occupants and its temporalities. The

explores its verticality. Each floor is represented in plan. They are read

physical house and the rendered personal objects become traces of

as a sequence of layered vertical spaces. As one is brought through the

bodies left behind by the intended occupants which embodies life.

individual floors, the rooms’ arrangements and dimensions change with

This is further surveyed more interestingly in the perspectives of the

the building’s sloped geometry which revolves around its stair core.

central stair core which depicts four scenarios of spatial activities. In that particular drawing, the instrumentality of the vertical stair courtyard is

Secondly, activities, personal objects and furniture are rendered in to

emphasised. Four varying occasions and moods are designed which

suggest a form of living and lifestyle, i.e. how occupants would perceive,

give a sense of the architect’s proposed placelessness. They are not

necessarily rendering the “reality”, but rather based on the mood and

This provoked me to reflect upon our own training in architecture school

perception. Belari has observed that drawings, or rather surveys, contests

– what are drawings for? To get it approved by BCA (Building Academy

between “imitating-interpreting” and that of “depicting-reproducing”. They

Authority Singapore)? How do we negotiate between the empirical lines

both induces new way of understanding the project.

and the surveyed intangible? This then brings me back to this essay’s reflection and Belardi’s argument that drawing itself is an architectural survey. The architectural survey extends beyond the documentation of a building’s physical attributes. It is about surveying the “lived-in” and how these physical attributes facilitates spatial experiences, or rather, frames life. This would thus be important in order to produce successful drawings that communicates placeness and brings out the “humanness” of an architectural project. Finally, on a positive note, that would be the reason why architects still draw.

19 April 2016

The example of Beyond The Screen thus proves to show that architectural drawings need not be mere copy of the physical building. Its representations have a symbolic order; that is premised on a critique of a social condition; informing the public the architect’s design intents and influencing the public’s perception of domestic spaces. The various modes of architecture surveys exemplify their subjective character and reveal that a project is not solely an urban design that premises on conventional understandings. Belardi’s Z-axis on the depth of interpretation exemplifies this point. He calls for an acknowledgement of various spatial impressions, even if they are misunderstanding of the reality. Ultimately they are design intentions put forth to public’s perception. They are documents of the physical attributes, rendered with people’s perceptions, emotions and sensuality. Additionally, Belardi’s also advocates for a synthesis of both the designed plan – the physical attributes and the surveyed plan – its spatial experiences. Drawing thus becomes a tool for remembering, describing and illustrating the proposal. Drawings are spatial experiences which feed directly into our imagination and perception. They also provide a spatial sense and emphasize the instrumentality of the vertical stair core to the design. It is almost a rhetoric device to convince us that this project is capable of framing life and domestic activities. In conclusion, survey drawings reveal characteristics of a particular architecture which are oftentimes they are not objectively measurable. They make the imperceptible explicit and known by suggesting the experience within the building. The act to me becomes about noting both the tangible and the intangible – between what we perceive and what is there to cause our perception. The drawings from the Fragments of a New Housing Language exhibition bounces back to the question of what architecture is and how do architects represent them in print. Beyond the traditional orthographic drawings, which are empirical; these drawings subtly showed how architecture is subjected to time, people’s perceptions, spatial appropriations, climate, decay et cetera.

Reference Belardi, Paolo, “No Day Without a Line: A lecture on Informed Drawing”. “Why Architects Still Draw”. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2014, p. 58-94 Charles Rice, “the Emergence of the Interior – Architecture, Modernity, Domesticity”, London: Routledge: 2007, pp. 2 Drawings from “Beyond The Screen” – OBBA (Office for Beyond Boundaries Architecture), from “Fragments of a new housing language” Exhibition, National University of Singapore, 2016

/ d.