Productive Drawing, Working Stone

Architecture students usually make all their work themselves. However, in practice, architects’ designs are conventionally translated into built form by someone else. Making creative use of last year’s campus closures and the limitations of social distancing, this course invited students to develop skills as both designers and makers by exploring how drawings mediate between design and construction when these activities are separated. Towards the end of the course, students were introduced to Purbeck stone, and- via Zoom- to Haysom Purbeck Stone, a commercial quarry and masonry works in Dorset. Initial conversations with a stonemason helped the students to tailor their designs to the material properties of stone, and its associated workshop processes. All twenty-four of the students’ models were then produced within the total available time of six working days. By the end of the course, students had learned how to produce efficient design drawings informed by practical constraints, and had an increased understanding of the specific design opportunities, tolerances and constraints presented by Purbeck stone.

This exhibition accompanies the symposium, (Re)Building with Stone: Ashlars, Spolias, Quarries and Cities

Please note that, in line with the 2021–22 Academic Year AA Coronavirus Policy, access to the AA buildings including the AA Gallery is currently limited to AA students and staff only.