Here at Architectural Digest, we, of course, think that all architects are artists, working in a three-dimensional medium on a grand scale. But their artistry actually goes beyond their buildings—in fact, such skill is in play well before a cornerstone is laid. Architects are often accomplished draftsmen, some working in an exacting form with meticulous attention to detail, others choosing to put pen to paper in a more emotional, stylized manner. And across the duration of a project, they may even work in both styles. The new book Drawing Architecture (Phaidon, $80) is a collection of more than 250 works by some of the world’s best-known architects, from Michelangelo to Zaha Hadid. “Polished presentation drawings made to seduce clients, or for publication, sit alongside instructive diagrams and impromptu sketches communicating intense emotion,” writes author Helen Thomas in the introduction. “The diversity of the examples collected in this book shows that the definition of an architectural drawing encompasses many and varied approaches.” Take a look at ten of our favorite drawings from the book here, including Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Fallingwater and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s abstracted floor plan for a private home.
Architecture + Design
Beautiful Drawings by the World’s Most Famous Architects
They may even be more striking than the buildings they became