Raquel Pelayo

The Portuguese architect Álvaro Siza has always accompanied his project activity with the practice of free hand drawing. A sample of his vast graphic work is analysed, seeking to characterise its predominant traits and inquiring about possible and more direct influences. One finds some parallels, that extend overtime, with the work of his wife, the artist Maria Antónia Siza (1940-1973).

This article reflects upon the modalities of ideation and idea representation within the Theory
of Architecture disciplinary field, and more specifically in what concerns public space. The
main question is if it's possible to academically implement an epistemological architecture
approach less dependent and limited by the linearity of the linguistic discourse, and more able
to expand to a imagistic discursiveness?
Conducted pedagogical experiments in the scope of the curricular unit "Teoria 3" (public space
theory) of the integrated master degree in architecture at Architecture School of OPorto in
Portugal (FAUP) indicate the feasibility of this reflexive field extension, provide data that points
to the added value of such an approach and allows us to question the prevalence of research
methodologies that are alien to the architecture field, and argue that within architectural
research, the methods and processes that mobilize specific artistic cognitive knowledge, like
the projective and synthetic communicational and visual skills, shouldn't be avoided and, by
the contrary, it's use should prevail.
The description of the conducted experiment will be provided showing how in Teoria 3 the
students develop experimental research, a precondition for theory formulation, using the
instruments and methods familiar to architecture making.
The philosophical principle of continuity from Leibniz to Peirce - and even Deleuze - is
the conceptual paradigm presented to students as a starting point to frame public space
architecture, complemented by a instrumental reading proposal of public space as "the body
on the move" (Fonseca, 2010). The approach main pedagogical instrument is the construction
of a tridimensional analogical model, we call the pSm - portable space model, complemented
by other processes like freehand drawing, digital drawing, taking measurements, mental
calculus, photography, and graphic design. These processes are complemented with
traditional discursive processes like bibliographic research, interviews, and writing.
Based in the results achieved by students attending to Teoria 3, and participants of the
experiment, we will consider the advantages and disadvantages of such a pedagogical process.
The findings point to the enhancement of the students ability to deal with space information,
as well as the enhancement of the students analytical and synthesizing cognitive processes
in a critical and architectonically specific way, that is comprehensive of the issues that can
be raised in each case, including forms of residence and forms of collective equipment. In
fact, in the era of the debate towards void, sPm, drawings and other representations of the
space phenomena in terms of real public spaces are a powerful alternative tool to question
the preconceived knowledge we have of space and a critical and fruitful way to guide space
intervention strategies.
We speculate that the reasons for these advantages may arise from the students direct
contact with space, as they produce first hand real space representations as systematic
survey. This is provided by three-dimensional models and bi-dimensional freehand
observational drawings as both tasks imply an interpretation of space that arises from
an inherent confrontation between universal architectonic principles and architectonic
circumstantial reasons. The sPm, drawing and the final graphic communication design also
have revealed themselves as tools to update the knowledge of the physical organization of
public space as a unitary concept of the human institutions form.

This paper is published in a portuguese version in the proceedings of the conference Drawing in the University Today: http://www.i2ads.org/dut2013/DUTfolder/downloads/DUT2013_lo.pdf

Theoretical and speculative cognitive research is reviewed to identify the most relevant cognitive skills connected to the exercise of drawing. A conducted experiment in drawing from observation is described and its findings are shared, enlightening the cognitive processes underlying  drawing  skills.  Implications on learning how to draw issues are discussed as well as its importance on education seeking for consensus in recognizing the exercise of drawing from observation as an opportunity to develop higher order cognitive skills. We argue that  the augmentation of perceptive-drawing competence might mean an expansion of the intelligence capacity, as suggested by Álvaro Siza’s aphorism  "Drawing is the desire of intelligence".

Esta dissertação incide na visão do desenho como ferramenta essencial e imprescindível para
qualquer processo de arquitetura, sem invalidar outros que existam e que tendem a aumentar com o
crescente avanço tecnológico. Considero que existe uma desvalorização do desenho – a linguagem
mais primária de que dispomos – o que se torna, a meu ver, uma das causas para o caminho autista
que a arquitetura parece estar a levar, indiferente ao contexto e à circunstância, procurando o espetáculo.
Assim, o desenho é algo em que acredito, podendo levar-nos a um retorno ao básico e à elementaridade
da arquitetura. É, por isso, um processo de excelência que é global, por estar ao alcance
de todos. Muitos são os autores que defendem esta necessidade do desenho intrínseco à arquitetura,
nunca experimentando na prática estas teorias de forma sistemática e objetiva.
Pela importância de testar estas teorias que são, ao mesmo tempo, as motivações desta dissertação,
realiza-se uma investigação que tem como ponto de partida os desenhos pessoais de conceção
dos projetos de arquitetura de um autor específico, que é encarado como um caso de estudo. A seleção
deste autor provém de uma experiência pessoal – um estágio, realizado com o arquiteto Camilo
Rebelo –, onde me começaram a surgir estas e outras inquietações no âmbito da arquitetura.
Os desenhos pessoais sujeitos a análise fazem parte de um conjunto de dezoito cadernos, que
foram selecionados ora pelo arquiteto ora por mim, e são consequentemente distribuídos de forma
cronológica por quatro fases, definidas de acordo com as referências biográficas – desde que foi
estudante até à atividade como arquiteto independente.
A análise a cada desenho é feita de acordo com padrões quantitativos e qualitativos, de forma
sistematizada, lógica e criteriosa. Para os primeiros critérios entende-se uma análise primária acerca
das características dos desenhos, e para os segundos entende-se uma análise de conteúdo e significado,
de modo a estabelecer uma relação coesa entre ambos.
A investigação sugere que o desenho é um poderoso meio de aferição dos traços essenciais de
um autor, não apenas no âmbito do processo criativo como também quanto à sua personalidade,
uma vez que faz a ligação entre o inconsciente e o papel. Assim, é verificada na análise da prática
do desenho de um arquiteto as teorias especulativas revistas sobre o desenho como um processo
pessoal.