ABSTRACT
The design for a building begins with a concept, an idea in the mind of the architect. This image must be conveyed to clients, who understandably need to know what their building will look like. It needs to be communicated to planning authorities and perhaps to committees judging competitions or organizing exhibitions. Members of the public also have an interest in finding out what is planned for their neighbourhood. The architectural intention of a design often needs to be communicated to people who may or may not possess architectural understanding. It is not normally practical to create a prototype building, nor is it sufficient to describe the inspiration of the architect in words. A visual representation is required. Presentation techniques, for different stages of the design process, have ranged from the brief conceptual sketch, geometrical plan, section and elevation, picturesque perspective, physical scale model through to today’s computer simulation. Thoughts are represented either subjectively, providing an impression of the building, or objectively, via precise geometry attempting to define the building in advance, the two approaches perhaps reflecting that architecture belongs to both art and science. Some worthy presentation drawings and models, whether for realized projects or not, have found their way into galleries, archives, collections and books, and as such have become publications, moving outside the building process and into the cultural institutions of architecture (Lipstadt 1989). Whatever the form of the artist’s impression, its importance and interest, and debate on its effectiveness, cannot relate solely to the representation itself. We must take into account the process by which it came into being. The visual representation of buildings has taken many forms, and its rich history, great diversity and fascinating future remain as interesting today as ever.
