Drawing Relationships — site visit to Marfa, TX
In spring 2019, Elizabeth Farrell is teaching Intermediate II: Environmental, a design studio for second and third-year undergraduates at the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture. Entitled, “Drawing Relationships: Conversations Between Architecture and Context,” Elizabeth’s studio focuses on understanding architecture as a mediator between people and context through the act of drawing. Work from her studio and thoughts on teaching philosophy will appear in the “Drawing Relationships” series.
Entitled, “Drawing Relationships,” the undergraduate studio I am currently teaching at the University of Texas at Austin explores how drawing can be used not only as a tool for documentation but also as a way to investigate connections between buildings and their sites.
Our first design project is an artist-in-residence outpost sited in Marfa, TX. Last weekend, the studio traveled to Marfa where we engaged in drawing and hands-on making activities as part of our site research. Prior to heading to West Texas, we practiced hands-on drawing techniques including sketching and watercolor at our architecture school building, Goldsmith Hall. In this exercise, we focused on technique, as well as thinking about how drawings can convey information and relate a specific idea.
Site Visit
On our visit to the site, students began by thinking and looking with their sketchbooks, not their cameras. Drawing requires you to look carefully at your subject, analyzing and breaking it down in a way that photography does not. Any drawing is inherently selective — you can’t draw everything — and so any drawing also conveys a specific intent from its author. What did the author of the drawing decide to exclude or include and why?
At the site, we drew cross sections through the landscape and made sketch perspectives at three scales — the larger landscape, the immediate site, and the detail level of the human body. Even though this landscape appears empty, the act of drawing encouraged students to analyze and note what is present on the site, including plant life, signage and infrastructure, and a dramatic view. Many of the students have not had experience with observational sketching prior to this studio, and the exercise was a challenge for everyone (in particular because it was around 35 degrees!).
Works by Judd and Irwin
In addition to drawing at the site, we also visited two projects in Marfa which students analyzed with their sketchbooks. The first was Donald Judd’s 15 untitled works in concrete, 1980–84, and the second was Robert Irwin’s untitled (dawn to dusk), 2016. Both are architectural-scale works completed by artists, and offer inspirational application of proportion and light.
Through sketching these spaces, students made focused observations about specific conditions that allowed them to better understand how each work is performing. Both Judd and Irwin’s pieces utilize a repetition of form and proportion — the first through the module of a concrete box, and the second through a series of regularly spaced windows of the same size. This “control” utilized throughout each piece creates a quiet form that allows light to provide dynamism and energy — each piece changes throughout the day and season as the light changes.
Understanding how to look closely and use drawing to observe does not happen overnight, however, I noticed a huge improvement in the students’ drawings from the beginning of studio to our last drawing exercise at the Irwin project. Drawing skills are improved by repetition, and I hope to see students continue to develop their practice of drawing throughout the semester.
Adobe Wall Build
To pair with our drawing exercises, the studio also worked with local craftsman Joey Benton of Silla Marfa to complete a small mock-up of an adobe wall. Within two hours, the students went from knowing zero information about adobe to perfecting their mortar application and creating an efficient assembly line.
Within design studio, materiality is a critical consideration for both its experiential and structural properties. Engaging in this type of hands-on activity is crucial for students to understand building in a tangible sense, not just as an abstract design exercise. Students came away with knowledge about how adobe is sourced, how to build with it, and its thermal properties. Many of them said it was their favorite part of the trip!
Back in the design studio, the hope is that having this knowledge to layer in with experiential design goals helps strengthen and provide depth to each student’s project. I want students to strive for work that is aspirational and participates in a larger discourse while keeping in mind the primary function of architecture: to create space for human habitation through correct application and execution of physical materials.
Check back for updates on the students’ projects to see what information from the field trip filters into their work!
