Drawing and Drafting in Architecture Architectural History as a Part of Future Studies

Abstract

Architectural historians take an academic interest in past architectural styles and techniques. The actual value of the exploration of the past is to design, from the knowledge gained, a possible image of the future. Consequently, architectural history becomes a part of the futurology. In this context, the first questions are in regard to the fundamental skills of architects. How does work drafting in the architecture? What future presentation methods could be applied? The following article takes a critical look at factors that may influence solutions in the field of drafting in the future, such as the inclusion of the public in the dialogue of the drafting process. This could lead to a discussion about the current didactic for the teaching of drafting and architectural history at universities. Architectural history currently creates a rigid corset for the concepts of styles and for different time frameworks. Is this approach still up-to-date at all? Because of the current teaching method, the vocabulary predominantly originates from the history of art. Accordingly, large numbers of lexical facts are taught and requested, but are there other options available? Against the background of current developments, the question arises: whether architects and architectural historians should not become emancipated and develop, for subject-related issues, their own linguistic forms of expression? If this approach were to be taken into consideration, the knowledge gained and the practical benefits from these studies would be a multiple for the everyday work of prospective architects. As a result, the future of architecture would obtain its own past.