Why Architects Draw

Edward Robbins, an anthropologist, has been studying and writing for 20 years about the system of architectural education and practice in this country and abroad. This work examines the social uses of architectural drawing: how drawing acts to direct both the conception and the production of architecture; how it helps architects set an agenda, define what is important about a design, and communicate with colleagues and clients; and how it embodies claims about the architect's role, status, and authority.;The centrepiece of Robbins's investigation consists of case study narratives based on interviews with nine architects, a developer-architect and an architectural engineer. These narratives from a broad range of practitioners and schools of thought, including contemporary architects, offer an opportunity to compare different views about the use of drawings.;The narratives are illustrated by the architects' drawings (some never before published) from projects in Japan, England, Italy, Germany, Spain, Portugal and the US, from conception through realization. Included are orthographic and axonometric projections, perspectives, elevations, plans, sections, working drawings, sketches, schematics, construction and finished drawings.