Drawing Towards a Collaborative Turn

This article summarizes a three-year project, DrawingTogether, which aimed to address the predominant individualistic approach in architectural education despite architecture’s inherently collaborative nature. The project emphasized the potential significance of multiple authorship in drawing, engaging students from diverse programs and academic levels. The project utilized a series of drawing sessions progressing from speedy exercises to lengthy and complex drawing engagements. The project facilitated both teamwork and individual creative development by fostering a collaborative-friendly drawing approach that encouraged shared contributions. Adaptations to the Covid-19 pandemic allowed for in-person and online sessions. Drawing Towards a Collaborative Turn questions the purpose of drawing, encouraging students to view it as a multiplicity tool: as a means of communication, critical thinking tool, and social interaction platform rather than merely a talent-based skill. Collaborative exercises redefined drawing as a platform for relational authorship, inspiring improvisation, and contextual adaptability. The project’s culmination, “The Massive Individual,” showcased the potential for creativity and individual growth within collaborative efforts. Drawing Together’s relational collaboration approach empowered participants to enhance their skills through shared knowledge and creative autonomy, distinguishing it from transactional collaboration prevalent in architectural practice. By advocating a collaborative mindset, the project offers an alternative model for architectural education, equipping students with technical proficiency and effective teamwork. It provides a novel insight and pedagogical implications for balancing creative individuality with collaborative necessity in future architectural curricula.

https://doi.org/10.35483/ACSA.Teach.2023.27

Volume Editors
Massimo Santanicchia

ISBN
978-1-944214-44-9