ABSTRACT
The construction of a constellation begins in the mind’s eye of a reader who first looks at a plane of existence produced by things in proximity; then associates, reflecting and joining; and finally sees anew. While individual stars (things) may be far away in space and time, reading how they are parts together, as a set and as a new whole, brings a constellation into being. Traveling from the indefinite article “a” to the definite article “the” is the fundamental transformation to arrive at the specific. Drawings, placed together, advocate generative relationships. In comparison, patterns arise, provoking questions that illuminate particulars, all becoming more significant. Here, an innovative and vibrant teaching model (learning platform) constructs real evidence and the promise of new knowledge through pairing, the examination of two drawings to bring forward the resultant between. When these are drawings from women in architecture, closeness situates a rare dialogue. Our gaze, newly extended, pursues the question: when does evidence become knowledge? With materials available, the International Archive of Women in Architecture offers associative proximity, and juxtaposition occurs with ease. Two drawings, placed on the table, now become two together in conversation. How probable is it that two such works would ever be this close? Now, through a methodology, they speak—of endless opportunities for creating constellations offering new, broader, unbiased knowledge while advocating the legacies preserved in archival collections.
