“Architecture and the Lost Art of Drawing” Summary

In Michael Graves’ article “Architecture and the Lost Art of Drawing,” which was published in the September 1, 2012 edition of The New York Times, Graves describes the importance of drawing in the field of architecture despite our advances in computer technology in this field. He expresses that the act of drawing in regards to architecture, cannot be dead, nor could architecture divorce itself from drawing, no matter how impressive our technology gets. According to Graves there are three types of architectural drawings; first, the “referential sketch”, second, the “preparatory study”, and last, the “definitive drawing.” He believes that “the referential sketch serves as a visual diary, a record of an architect’s discovery,” and “the preparatory study, is typically part of a progression of drawings that elaborate a design.” The most developed of the three is the definitive drawing, which is almost always appropriately developed on the computer due to the accuracy of computers. Despite the advancements computers have made for the field of architecture, drawing by hand is still integral.