Review
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"Drawings... are not only visually entertaining but they serve as
a way of educating and learning fundamental architectural
representations."―ArchDaily
"To have an architect or artist share their sketchbooks is to be
offered an extraordinary window into their creative
process."―Royal Academy of Arts
"The very simple and direct format of the book makes it equally
accessible and enjoyable to those with an interest in art,
design, and architecture, but not used to reading architectural
drawings, and to those with a trained and experienced
eye."―thedrawingprize.worldarchitecturefestival.com
"Helen Thomas presents more than 250 architectural drawings in
pairs that are alike in some way - compositionally or
functionally... The drawings are a feast for the eyes, and the
form of the book, designed by Hans Stofregen and printed on
sumptuous deckle-edged art paper, is appropriately
fine."―Architecture Today
"Taking an interdisciplinary approach, this collection presents
over 250 architectural drawings from throughout history. The book
offers dialogues between a variety of styles, times and
locations, highlighting contributions from figures such as
Michelangelo, Frank Gehry, Louise Bourgeois, Zaha Hadid and Luis
Barragán."―AestheticaMagazine.com
"Before buildings are buildings they are drawings – a fact that
has been true for millennia. And, while the technology used to
create them has become more sophisticated, the most beautiful
architectural drawings are always about more than the information
they communicate; conveying the style, approach, aspirations and
thinking of their creators, much like art. As a new book, Drawing
Architecture, published by Phaidon, exquisitely demonstrates with
over 250 beautiful architectural drawings, from plans etched into
stone dating from 2130 BC to mind-achingly technical computer
models by contemporary heavy hitters Herzog & de
Meuron."―TheModernHouse.com
"This lavishly produced book is a potted history in pictures,
consisting of orthographic drawings-plans, sections, elevations,
perspectives-that quite literally span centuries."―Metropolis
Online
"Architectural drawings by the likes of Michelangelo, Frank
Gehry, Louise Bourgeois, Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, Grafton
Architects and Luis Barragan are brought together in this book.
Spanning geography and time, over 250 drawings are printed on
textured uncoated paper with deckled edges and displayed in pairs
with an illustrated chronology at the back of the
book."―Wallpaper.com
"An elegant presentation of stunning and inspiring architectural
drawings from antiquity to the present day."―Nowness.com
"A treasury of quite wonderful images going back to the first
known architectural plan, carved in 2130 BC on to a statue of a
Mesopotamian ruler. The difference is that you get hundreds of
different examples, in a deliberately eclectic selection that
includes a drawing made for a medieval Sienese building contract,
and the artist Madelon Vriesendorp's dreamlike depiction of the
Empire State and Chrysler buildings as a pair of postcoital
lovers. What holds it all together is the consistent perception
and wit of Thomas's selections and juxtapositions, and an
informative text that takes you into the motivations and
techniques of each mesmerising image. As a voyage through the
delight that architects can take in their work, it is hard to
beat."―The Observer, The New Review
"An inspiring, well-designed and definitely thought-provoking
tome meant to feed the imagination of architects, designers and
art lovers alike... An extraordinary gift."―Architecture Lab
"Not just visually beguiling, this is an uncommonly intelligent
guide through 4,000 years of spaces and buildings."―San Francisco
Chronicle
About the Author
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Trained and registered as an architect, Helen Thomas spent 10
years as a senior lecturer in London schools of architecture,
before moving to the new V&A/RIBA Architecture Collections at the
V&A where she experimented with various ways of exploring and
discussing architecture with a variety of audiences.She is
currently the Senior Research Fellow in Architecture and
Construction, ETH Zurich.