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HA7040 Drawing Architecture


From the inscriptions in stone to determine the entasis of Greek columns to computer generated images, architectural drawings mediate between the imagined and the built world. Despite their assumed instrumental nature, there is a distance between drawings and the buildings they represent which can only be breached through the imagination. Drawings communicate ideas and are sites where the different people involved in the production of architecture meet. Meanwhile, architectural drawings participate in the world-making activity of the architect in a different way that buildings do.

This module will explore the role of drawings in architecture and provide tools for their reading and interpretation. Through first-hand examination of architectural drawings kept in different institutions in Dublin and site visits, this module will study the historical evolution of architectural drawings, media, and techniques and the relationship between drawings and buildings.

  • Module Organiser:
    • Dr Maria Elisa Navarro Morales
  • Contact Hours:
    • 2 hours per week
  • Weighting:
    • 10 ECTS

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module, students should be able to:

  • Identify and describe different media, graphic methods and techniques involved in making architectural drawings.
  • Identify and describe the historical evolution of architectural representation.
  • Analyse the types of drawings architects make and critically assess their use. 
  • Use architectural drawings to read buildings.
  • Read and interpret architectural drawings.
  • Engage critically with architectural drawings.
  • Critically assess secondary sources on architectural representation.