Drawing Research Platform London ‒ ENAC Education ‐ EPFL

Drawing Research Platform London, 2025

During a one-week Summer Workshop at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in Central London, students will explore drawing as a fundamental tool in architecture and engineering, engaging with the site as both a built environment and a historically transformed place. Developed in collaboration with Drawing Matter, London, the workshop integrates hands-on drawing with research into the Drawing Matter Collection, a unique archive of architectural drawings.

Students will construct survey drawings—understood as instruments for potentially transforming existing conditions—while investigating drawing as a corporeal practice of measuring, analyzing, and questioning spatial, tectonic, urban, and material articulation, as well as the notion of place.

Drawing is introduced not as a technique of representation but as a mediator between construction and the individual. We approach drawing by hand as a cognitive tool, a physical act, and a form of construction. Students will engage with the site and scale as corporeal measures that inform design (disegno: drawing or invention).

The slowness and tactile nature of manual drawing and construction build tacit knowledge, fostering an awareness and economy of means. Through systematic testing and observation, students will explore the tactile qualities of construction and its relation to scale.

Work will take place in an outdoor atelier, surveying Lincoln’s Inn Fields through drawing and collaborative discussions. Lectures and direct engagement with the Drawing Matter Collection will provide unique access to drawings and sketches, offering a comparative analysis of different authors, project stages, and historical periods, deepening students’ understanding of drawing within architecture.

Project Team 2025

Dr. Patricia Guaita, architect, lecturer, IA ENAC EPFL

Raffael Baur, architect and external lecturer ENAC EPFL

Dr. David Fernandez-Ordoñez, civil engineer, Lecturer, SGC ENAC EPFL

Niall Hobhouse, collector and writer, Drawing Matter Director

Invited expert

Matthew Wells, Lecturer in Architectural Studies at University of Manchester

Contact & registration

For questions or to register, write to patricia.guaita@epfl.ch

Links

https://livingarchives.epfl.ch/projects/?search=drawing+research+platform&project=6723#item-37074

https://drawingmatter.org/drawing-research-platform-somerset-2023-enac-summer-workshop/