Sketch and Sniff

Hearing Architecture

The beginning of an architecture project usually starts with some form of communication. It can be a conversation over a coffee, through an email from a client listing a dozen items that they “must have”, or standing in an old building with a bunch of people describing what they can see in their head while they gesticulate in the direction of where new windows and walls could be. After this, everyone wants to agree on what was just discussed so there’s as little difference between what was implied and what was inferred. To do this, an architect will usually start making drawings. This process is so successful that architects are now synonymous with drawings. Even the idea of building something without a drawing sounds like a paradox. This makes architects experts in explaining what the end result of a project will look and feel like, which helps minimise the chance of clients turning up to a building site and being surprised by what’s been built. It may be second nature to architects, but even when a project has literally hundreds of drawings, it can still be difficult to understand what’s going to end up on-site. In this episode of Hearing Architecture we’ve asked architects from around Australia why drawings are so important to the profession of architecture and how drawings can help communicate to clients and the wider community.

This episode of Hearing Architecture featured the following guests: Peter Stutchbury, Shaneen Fantin, Belinda Allwood, Joe Agius, Amelia Borg, Nicholas Braun, Timothy Moore, Jo Rees, Damian Madigan, Andrew Maynard, Lee Hillam, Steven Postmas, Jessica Mountain, Emily Van Eyk, Jane Wetherall, Professor Philip Thalis, Dik Jarman, Sue Dugdale, and Jefa Greenaway.

The interviews in this episode were produced around Australia by EmAGN committee members: Jamileh Jahangiri, Daniel Hall, Kirsty Volz, Kali Marnane, Chris Morley, Sam McQueeney, Reece Currey, Brad Wetherall, Jess Beaver, Bede Taylor, Rebecca Webster, and Daniel Moore.

The AIA production team was Daniela Crawley, Stacey Rodda, Monique Woodward, and Thom McKenzie.

Produced by the Australian Institute of Architects Emerging Architects and Graduates Network, in collaboration with Open Creative Studio.

Written and Directed by Daniel Moore.

This content is brought to you by the Australian Institute of Architects Emerging Architects and Graduates Network, in collaboration with Open Creative Studio. This content does not take into account specific circumstances and should not be relied on in that way. This content does not constitute legal, financial, insurance, or other types of advice. You should seek independent verification or advice before relying on this content in circumstances where loss or damage may result. The Institute endeavours to publish content that is accurate at the time it is published but does not accept responsibility for content that may or will become inaccurate over time.