Drawing places: Practical strategies for teaching architects to sketch

This paper considers the connection between two essential facets of architecture: place and drawing. Through discussing the relationship between them, the article explores novel ways on which freehand in-situ drawing may be taught as an unparalleled vehicle for the design of architecture and place. The article presents the results of teaching experiences where in-situ sketching was used to help students engage with the specific nature of place, first outlining a set of basic challenges modern students face when learning to draw, and then proposing a set of practical teaching strategies to help students to overcome these. The paper contributes to the ongoing debate as to modern roles of freehand drawing in contemporary architecture, focusing on the opportunities it provides students, practitioners and researchers to critically understand, empathise and creatively intervene in the complex fabric of architecture and place