Study Drawings in Architectural Design: Their Properties as a Graphic Medium

This paper proposes a theoretical foundation for extending our understanding of study drawings by bringing forward concepts from a number of disciplines that are concerned with the structure of knowledge. Study drawings are defined as the informal, private drawings that architectural designers use as a medium for graphic thinking in the exploratory stages of their work. Drawings from the work of Paxton through Picasso are analyzed to confirm the familiar characteristics of study drawings and to identify the properties which account for their role in the working process of design, including their use as a means of inquiry. This epistemological function is compared with certain features of written language in order to propose an internal structure for study drawings. The paper concludes that much of the origin and nature of knowledge in design can be explained in terms of the properties and processes of study drawings and that these terms should be used to evaluate proposals for new media in design.