Docta Manus: Drawing Structures 2020-22

This research focuses on the critical role that drawing plays in the conceptual design process, where it acts as a tool for communication and the construction of thought. The UE Docta Manus - Drawing Structures course is designed to introduce basic drawing techniques and analytical drawing methods to enable students to explore structural concepts and their architectural solutions. Through hand drawing and analysis of selected projects, students will develop a deeper understanding of the interplay between architecture and engineering. The cognitive process of drawing by hand enables students to become aware of the relationship between technique and intention. The construction of points and lines on a paper sensitizes students to the notions of scale, size, proportion, transparency and composition; it makes them aware of the importance of detail as a key moment of construction, as a mediator relating a structure to the perceiving subject. The resulting tactile working drawings embody spatial and tectonic ideas, as well as the construction process of a structure.