Drawing to Build; Drawing to Design: An Integrated Methodology in Architectural Drawing Education

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5821/jida.2025.13634

Keywords:

Architectural drawing, Teaching methodology, Architectural representation, Architecture education, Design analysis

Abstract

An innovative methodology is presented for teaching architectural drawing in a first-year course of the Bachelor's Degree in Fundamentals of Architecture, based on a subject within the academic program that has been refined over the past eleven years. This methodology is structured around two distinct yet complementary approaches: “We draw as we build” and “We draw as we design.” Through the construction of an architectural model and the analysis of exemplary architectures, students acquire key competencies in representation, reading, and understanding of architectural projects. This methodology not only aims to improve technical drawing skills but also seeks to foster a deep understanding of design and construction processes, integrating drawing as an active tool for design thinking.

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logo DOI logo DOI logo DOI 10.5821 DOI: 10.5821/jida.2025.13634

Author Biographies

Francisco Javier Girón Sierra, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Architect and PhD from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM, 1999), and Associate Professor in the field of Architectural Graphic Expression at the Escuela Técnica Superior de Arquitectura de Madrid (ETSAM). He served as Deputy Director of Research and Doctoral Studies at the same institution (2017–2022). His main academic focus lies in teaching and research in architectural graphic representation, which he has combined with work and research in the field of historic gardening—including a service commission as Head of the Gardens and Woodlands Department at the Spanish National Heritage Agency (Patrimonio Nacional) from April 2009 to September 2011.

His primary line of research focuses on the role of drawing in the history of construction and architecture in the 18th and 19th centuries, with special attention to figures such as A. Choisy and explorations of authors like R. Willis, E. Viollet-le-Duc, and Rondelet. His work has been widely disseminated through international conferences, chapters in books published by leading academic publishers, and peer-reviewed journals. His most recent contribution is a chapter on A. Choisy in the collective volume Narrating the Globe: The Emergence of World Histories of Architecture (MIT Press, 2023).

He has recently initiated a new line of research on the history of natural light in architectural representation (see Drawing Matter, The Sun as Drawing Machine: Towards the Unification of Projection Systems from Villalpando to Farish, 2024). A secondary research line—linked to his doctoral thesis and his work at Patrimonio Nacional—focuses on the history of gardens in the 17th and 18th centuries, with publications in books and journals. His latest contribution in this field will be a keynote lecture at the “Gardens and Empires” conference at Kew Gardens (June 2025).

David Landínez González-Valcárcel, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

Architect since 1999 from ETSAM – Technical University of Madrid (UPM), he furthered his education by obtaining a Master’s Degree in Efficient Building and Energy and Environmental Rehabilitation from UEM, and graduated as a Building Engineer from UEM in 2013.

He also pursued third-cycle studies, earning the DEA – Diploma of Advanced Studies – from UPM within the doctoral program “Drawing, History, and Construction” of the Department of Architectural Graphic Ideation at ETSAM – UPM. He is currently a PhD candidate in Architectural Heritage.

After an initial and intense professional period in Brazil, he co-founded in 2001 LANDÍNEZ+REY | equipo L2G arquitectos asociados, SLP [eL2Gaa], together with architect Mónica González Rey. Conceived as a working platform, the studio approaches architecture as a generator of systems capable of responding both to the site and to the various dimensions, scales, and techniques each project demands. His professional activity is rooted in research developed through the architectural competitions the studio enters, designs, and builds.

Since 2011, he has combined his work at LANDÍNEZ+REY arquitectos [eL2Gaa] with teaching and research as an Associate Professor in the Department of Architectural Graphic Ideation at the School of Architecture of the Technical University of Madrid.

His work has received numerous awards and recognitions in various architectural competitions, he has delivered several lectures, and his projects have been exhibited and published in a wide range of specialized media.

Manuel Ramos Martín, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid

PhD Architect from the University of Seville, specialized in sustainable construction and energy obsolescence of buildings in relation to climate change. Associate Professor in the Department of Architectural Graphic Ideation at the ETSAM, Technical University of Madrid (UPM).

Alongside his academic work, he practices as an architect, serving as project manager and site supervisor for residential and tertiary buildings, all of which are developed entirely using BIM methodology.

References

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Published

2025-10-28

Issue

JIDA'25

Section

PAPERS