Tools of the Imagination
Inside the World of Architecture Design
March 5, 2005 - October 10, 2005
“The tool of the architect is to be able to see.”—Alvaro Siza
The construction of a building is fascinating to watch: each component has its craftworker, and each worker his or her appropriate tools, whether a hammer or a crane, to turn what seem to be scattered piles of material into a piece of architecture. But before the tools of construction ever arrive on the site, the architect wields a different set of tools to design, develop, and document the building-to-be: the tools of the imagination. The “magic” of architectural design generally takes place out of public view on the sketchbooks, drawing tables, and computer screens of the architect’s studio. The exhibition Tools of the Imagination peeks inside the world of design to reveal how architects have produced the drawings, models, renderings, and now, animations, which show us the promise of what might be built.
Even though architects today have an extraordinary array of sophisticated tools at their disposal, they still use many of the same tools that Thomas Jefferson did in the 18th century and Frank Lloyd Wright did in the 19th. Pencils, tracing paper, and drawing boards still abound in the designer’s studio. But the quest for the best way to test and communicate design ideas has never ended, and in this pursuit architects have borrowed and adapted tools from other disciplines, such as mathematics, science, art, and engineering. Inventions and innovations in drawing instruments throughout history have not only provided better answers to persistent drawing questions, they have also pointed the way to new possibilities. In the 19th century, helicographs, ellipsographs, and volutors addressed particular geometric drawing challenges, such as how to draw an Ionic column capital or an elliptical space. Now, most such problems and others are solved deep inside the computer, in the code of computer-aided design and drafting software.
“This is what the machine may do for us—place beauty for us in many places where otherwise it may be in only one.”—The Machine in Art, Louis Gibson, 1898
The history of drawing tools is a history of invention and innovation, and also a history of imagination, as tools make it possible for architects and designers to express their intentions. Like all tools, the tools of design, be they sophisticated machines or simple templates, are important cultural artifacts through which to understand human progress and aspirations.
As technologies that were once cutting-edge become commonplace and eventually archaic, where will architects find the next generation of communication tools?
“There are no rules, only tools.”—Glenn Vilppu, artist and educator
Timeline Highlights:
1560: Graphite is mined in the United Kingdom.
1662: The modern pencil is born when Friedrich Staedtler of Nuremburg puts graphite between two halves of wood.
1720s: The familiar T-square and drawing board are in common use.
1788: Erasers made of rubber become available, making mistakes easier to correct. Before this time, bread crumbs were used to erase graphite lines.
1840: Tracing paper, so common in the architect’s studio that it is often called “trash,” becomes cheap and widely available.
1880: Commercial blueprinting, the high tech of its day, makes quick and accurate reproduction of drawings possible.
1952: Polyester drawing film, known as “Mylar,” is introduced by Dupont.
1980: A century later, the pen plotter and computer-aided drafting make blueprinting archaic.
1983: Just a few years later the laser plotter displaces the pen plotter.
Sponsors
Patrons
Supporters
McGraw-Hill Construction
Contributors
Business Software Alliance
Microsoft
Hewlett-Packard Company
Associates
Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, P.C.
Donors
Norbert W. Young, Jr.
(As of February 15, 2005)
Sponsors & Partners
Credits
Exhibition Team
Guest Curator: Susan Piedmont-Palladino, Associate Professor of Architecture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Curatorial Associate/Project Manager: Reed Haslach, National Building Museum
Exhibition Design: Andrew Pettiti, Knowtis Design
Curatorial Advisory Committee
- Carol Bartz, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer, Autodesk Inc., San Rafael, CA
- Greg Bentley, Chief Executive Officer, Bentley Systems, Incorporated, Exton, PA
- Phillip G. Bernstein, FAIA, Vice President, Building Solutions Division, Autodesk Inc., Manchester, NH
- Paul Emmons, Assistant Professor of Architecture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Alexandria, VA
- Dr. Marco Frascari, GT Ward Professor of Architecture, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Alexandria, VA
- Robert W. Holleyman, II, President and CEO, Business Software Alliance, Washington, DC
- Peggy Kidwell, Curator of Mathematics, Division of Technology and Society, National Museum of American History, Washington, DC
- William Mitchell, Dean, School of Architecture and Planning, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
- C. Ford Peatross, Curator, Architecture, Design & Engineering Collections, Library of Congress, Washington, DC
- E. Phillip Read, Senior Project Consultant, Autodesk Consulting, Waltham, MA
- Anne Ritchie, Gallery Archivist, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
- Huw Roberts, AIA, CSI, Global Marketing Director, Bentley Building, Bentley Systems, Incorporated, Exton, PA
- David Thompson, AIA, Vice President, RTKL Associates, Washington, DC
- Bradley E. Workman, AIA, Vice President, Bentley Building, Bentley Systems, Incorporated, Exton, PA
- Norbert W. Young, Jr., FAIA, President, McGraw-Hill Construction, New York, NY
