Making Marks assembles sixty contemporary architects to make the case, in their own hand, that drawing never left — it evolved, and this global survey documents exactly how freehand practice has been refined in the post-digital studio.
About This Book
The return of the pencil to the architect's hand is not nostalgia — it is methodology. Making Marks follows the acclaimed Architects' Sketchbooks by gathering sixty architects whose freehand drawings, watercolours, and abstract impressions reveal the persistent centrality of manual representation in contemporary practice. Where digital tools dominate production, the sketchbook endures as a space for thinking. This survey spans rising talents and established names, capturing diverse approaches to architectural drawing across cultures and scales. For architects, students, and educators interested in creative process and design thinking, it functions as both visual compendium and argument — that the hand-drawn mark remains an irreplaceable instrument of architectural creativity.
Key Features
- 304 pages of freehand drawings, watercolours, and abstract architectural impressions from sixty practitioners
- Contributors include Jun Igarashi and Brian MacKay-Lyons, among other rising talents and well-known names
- Introduction by author Will Jones on the role of the physical sketch in the architect's creative process
- Published by Thames and Hudson
What You'll Discover
- How hand-drawing has been refined and reconsidered since the widespread adoption of digital design tools — a post-digital perspective, not a pre-digital one
- The range of physical media present in contemporary studios: notepads, stacked paper, pencils, and fine-point pens alongside screens
- Sixty distinct approaches to architectural representation, from vibrant watercolour to freehand abstraction, demonstrating that no single method defines the discipline
- The sketch as cognitive tool — how manual drawing functions not as documentation but as an active part of the architect's creative and conceptual process
About the Author
Will Jones is the author of the preceding volume Architects' Sketchbooks, published by Thames and Hudson. His introduction to Making Marks addresses the enduring importance of the physical sketch within contemporary architectural practice.
Specifications
- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 304
- Dimensions: 280 x 250 mm
- Language: English
- ISBN: 9780500021316
- Publisher: Thames and Hudson
- Publication Date: [Details available upon request]
Perfect For: Architects and architectural students interested in design process and drawing practice, educators teaching representational techniques, and design enthusiasts drawn to the intersection of craft and contemporary built environment thinking.