Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Across the design disciplines, drawing by hand has largely become a lost art. With digital tools at their disposal, the majority of designers create while sitting at their computer screens. Attitudes are changing, however: eager to push the boundaries of their creative processes, and spurred by a sense of being disconnected from their briefs, today's designers seek a greater and more immediate connection with their projects. There is no better way to stimulate the imagination than by learning to draw what one sees and creating by hand, and in the fluid, living world of landscape architecture, it is particularly important to have an organic relationship with one's design.



An essential volume for landscape- and garden-design professionals, Drawing for Landscape Architecture argues for the importance of learning to "see by hand," to visualize large-scale design plans and articulate them through drawing before turning to the digital tools that are so crucial to efficient and cost-effective building solutions. This enriched approach makes for better design, happier clients, and more successful projects.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Hutchison, a professional landscape architect in London, makes a strong case here for sketching by hand as the first step in any designer's process. He believes that sketching on site directly engages a designer's mind in a way that snapping a few photos does not. He presents his wide-ranging discussion of drawing over the course of nine sumptuously illustrated chapters. There are no exercises or projects included for the reader to try, as this book is meant to be more of an inspiration than a guide. Aimed primarily at professional garden designers and landscape architects, this will also be helpful to other designers and home buyers. (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

In a "post-computer-aided design" recalibration of his field, Hutchison, a distinguished landscape designer, challenges the common assumption that hand drawing has become an "ill-afforded whimsical luxury, inferior in productivity to tasks carried out in the office." In eight sections that parallel the steps of the design process and in two case studies, the book presents a strong argument for using drawing to think and work through a landscape design from initial site examination to presentation for clients and completion. From a variety of sites in diverse international locations with variegated light qualities, the book foregrounds numerous accomplished drawings for various stages of the design process (some sites are included in several sections). Each drawing is identified with location, medium, size, and duration of the drafting session. This last feature and additional comments in the caption provide insight into the nature of the drawing exercise, its purpose, and the thinking process it facilitated. Stemming from a 2009 Drawing Space exhibition at the Garden Museum in London, the book is not a catalogue but a thoughtful manual enriched by a lifelong practice of beautifully crafted drawing. Summing Up: Essential. Architecture and landscape studio programs; lower- and upper-level undergraduates, two-year technical program students, graduate students, researchers/faculty, and professionals/practitioners. M. Nilsen Indiana University South Bend