All images courtesy of Kemper Art Museum

Coop Himmelblau, "Super Spaces," c. 1969.

For students of architecture, the formative years of study are a period of wild experimentation, unorthodox use of materials, and most importantly, a time to make mistakes. Much of this work isn't intended for mass exposure, and nearly none of it ever floats to the surface. But an upcoming exhibition at the Kemper Art Museum, Washington University, St. Louis, does just that, highlighting the youthful projects of some of the world’s leading architects.

Drawing Ambience: Alvin Boyarsky and the Architectural Association culls illustrations, sketches, and graphic studies from the private collection of former Architectural Association chairman Alvin Boyarsky. The show, which opens September 12th and runs through January 4th, 2015, tracks the numerous shifts in architectural pedagogy and practice that attended Boyarsky’s long tenure at the Architectural Association (AA) in London. Hand drawing was a major component of Boyarsky’s educational philosophy, not just as a reaction to the advent of computer-aided design, but also a coming to terms with an increasingly global, media-drenched world. “Boyarsky encouraged young architects to embrace the emerging global culture and probe contemporary issues while defining their own visual and spatial languages,” the curators write. More than just a graphic device, he elevated the act of drawing to "a form of architectural inquiry unto itself.”.....Continue Reading

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