ABSTRACT
ARCHITECTURALPRACTICE Whenwethinkofwhatarchitectsdo,drawing,notwriting,istheactivitythat firstspringstomind.Becausedrawingisitsprimarysemioticmedium,architectureraisesmoststrikinglytheissueofwhatisdistinctivelyanduniquelyleft forwritingtocontribute,aftereverythingthatcanbedonethroughothermore (toarchitects)accessiblemeanshasbeendone.Speech(anditsattendant technologiesoftelephoneandvoicemail)are,ofcourse,availabletothe practitionersofalltheprofessionswehavestudiedintheresearch,butarchitectureisdistinctiveintheextensiveuseitmakesofdrawing.Here,uniquely, writingisupagainstnotjusttheephemeralmodesofspeechandgesturebut anotherpermanent,trace-leaving,record-creatinginscriptionalmedium.When writingisused,therefore,ithasaparticularsignificancethatderivesfromthe constantlypresentalternativepossibilityofgraphicalrepresentation.
