Chris Wilkinson; Drawing What I See

Royal Academy Publications Florence Dassonville, Production Co-ordinator Carola Krueger, Production Manager Peter Sawbridge, Editorial Director Nick Tite, Publisher Design: Vladimir Molico and Philip Dennis Colour origination: DawkinsColour, London Printed in Wales by Gomer Press

Text and images copyright © 2019 Chris Wilkinson OBE RA

Contents

Copyright © 2019 Royal Academy of Arts, London Any copy of this book issued by the publisher is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including these words being imposed on a subsequent purchaser.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-912520-24-4 Distributed outside the United States and Canada by ACC Art Books Ltd, Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4SD Distributed in the United States and Canada by ARTBOOK | D.A.P., 75 Broad Street, Suite 630, New York NY 10004

Drawing What I See

5

United Kingdom

8

Italy 22 France 64 Spain 68 Malta 76 Greece 78 Morocco 80 United States of America

84

West Indies

90

Russia 94 Egypt 96 Saudi Arabia

102

Singapore 104 Cambodia 106 Indonesia 108 China 110 Japan 118 Australia 120 Further reading

142

Acknowledgements 143

Royal Academy Publications Florence Dassonville, Production Co-ordinator Carola Krueger, Production Manager Peter Sawbridge, Editorial Director Nick Tite, Publisher Design: Vladimir Molico and Philip Dennis Colour origination: DawkinsColour, London Printed in Wales by Gomer Press

Text and images copyright © 2019 Chris Wilkinson OBE RA

Contents

Copyright © 2019 Royal Academy of Arts, London Any copy of this book issued by the publisher is sold subject to the condition that it shall not by way of trade or otherwise be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including these words being imposed on a subsequent purchaser.

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-912520-24-4 Distributed outside the United States and Canada by ACC Art Books Ltd, Sandy Lane, Old Martlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 4SD Distributed in the United States and Canada by ARTBOOK | D.A.P., 75 Broad Street, Suite 630, New York NY 10004

Drawing What I See

5

United Kingdom

8

Italy 22 France 64 Spain 68 Malta 76 Greece 78 Morocco 80 United States of America

84

West Indies

90

Russia 94 Egypt 96 Saudi Arabia

102

Singapore 104 Cambodia 106 Indonesia 108 China 110 Japan 118 Australia 120 Further reading

142

Acknowledgements 143

Gasholders and Battersea Power Station

10 | 11

Over the past twenty years, King’s Cross has been regenerated from a run-down industrial area of north London into a popular new urban destination. Among its key landmark buildings are the Gasholders. I have been involved with the project since 2002, with a competition win to transform the triplet of conjoined cast-iron structures into luxury apartments. This sketch of the nearly completed project shows it from the Regent’s Canal, with the new apartments sitting within the refurbished cast-iron frames of the gasholders.

This is my sketch of the internal shell of Battersea Power Station before the regeneration works started. This building is distinguished by its four huge chimneys that rise up from brick towers at its corners.

Its exterior was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in the 1930s, and it provided electricity from two huge coal-fired turbines.

Gasholders and Battersea Power Station

10 | 11

Over the past twenty years, King’s Cross has been regenerated from a run-down industrial area of north London into a popular new urban destination. Among its key landmark buildings are the Gasholders. I have been involved with the project since 2002, with a competition win to transform the triplet of conjoined cast-iron structures into luxury apartments. This sketch of the nearly completed project shows it from the Regent’s Canal, with the new apartments sitting within the refurbished cast-iron frames of the gasholders.

This is my sketch of the internal shell of Battersea Power Station before the regeneration works started. This building is distinguished by its four huge chimneys that rise up from brick towers at its corners.

Its exterior was designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in the 1930s, and it provided electricity from two huge coal-fired turbines.

English country houses

18 | 19

English country houses

18 | 19

Venice

28 | 29

Finally by boat across the lagoon into the heart of Venice, where the few Palladian buildings stand out among the more highly decorated gothic architecture.

Excited by my glimpse of the imposing Festa del Rendentore from the Giudecca Canal, I was soon overwhelmed by the exceptionally beautiful views of San Giorgio Maggiore from St Mark’s Square. Surely this is one of the greatest set-pieces of townscape ever conceived and constructed. A composition of exquisite visual delight. A triumph for Andrea Palladio. For us, it was the culmination of our office tour of Palladian architecture.

Since then, I have photographed and sketched this view many times, and seen it in different lights, but it always succeeds in lifting my spirits.

Palladio’s architecture means a lot to me and I would like to think it has had a positive influence on my own work. Certainly, my love of geometry and proportion has been enhanced by studying the Quattro Libri and his buildings. Like that of Mies van der Rohe, Palladio’s architecture is refined and minimal, based on function with an elegant simplicity.

Venice

28 | 29

Finally by boat across the lagoon into the heart of Venice, where the few Palladian buildings stand out among the more highly decorated gothic architecture.

Excited by my glimpse of the imposing Festa del Rendentore from the Giudecca Canal, I was soon overwhelmed by the exceptionally beautiful views of San Giorgio Maggiore from St Mark’s Square. Surely this is one of the greatest set-pieces of townscape ever conceived and constructed. A composition of exquisite visual delight. A triumph for Andrea Palladio. For us, it was the culmination of our office tour of Palladian architecture.

Since then, I have photographed and sketched this view many times, and seen it in different lights, but it always succeeds in lifting my spirits.

Palladio’s architecture means a lot to me and I would like to think it has had a positive influence on my own work. Certainly, my love of geometry and proportion has been enhanced by studying the Quattro Libri and his buildings. Like that of Mies van der Rohe, Palladio’s architecture is refined and minimal, based on function with an elegant simplicity.

Florence

I have visited Florence many times and I’m always overwhelmed by its beauty. The Renaissance architecture is breathtaking and sometimes seems unreal in relation to the hordes of twenty-first-century tourists who crowd the streets and piazzas. It is best visited in the winter and is absolutely magnificent at Christmas time.

I generally walk from the railway station towards the Duomo, where I pause and admire Brunelleschi’s mighty dome and the extravagance of the marble façades. Then on to visit an exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi, an almost grotesquely robust building that exudes wealth and power, but makes a good gallery.

Next, through the Piazza della Repubblica with its beautiful colonnade to the grand Piazza della Signoria, home to the Palazzo Vecchio and a copy of Michelangelo’s statue of David, now in the Accademia.

I pass the Uffizi Gallery and enjoy following the Corridoio Vasariano, an elevated enclosed passageway connecting the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti by crossing the Ponte Vecchio. Such an amazing piece of construction and townscape. Then on to lunch at Il Santo Bevitore in Via di Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno.

40 | 41

Florence

I have visited Florence many times and I’m always overwhelmed by its beauty. The Renaissance architecture is breathtaking and sometimes seems unreal in relation to the hordes of twenty-first-century tourists who crowd the streets and piazzas. It is best visited in the winter and is absolutely magnificent at Christmas time.

I generally walk from the railway station towards the Duomo, where I pause and admire Brunelleschi’s mighty dome and the extravagance of the marble façades. Then on to visit an exhibition at Palazzo Strozzi, an almost grotesquely robust building that exudes wealth and power, but makes a good gallery.

Next, through the Piazza della Repubblica with its beautiful colonnade to the grand Piazza della Signoria, home to the Palazzo Vecchio and a copy of Michelangelo’s statue of David, now in the Accademia.

I pass the Uffizi Gallery and enjoy following the Corridoio Vasariano, an elevated enclosed passageway connecting the Palazzo Vecchio to the Palazzo Pitti by crossing the Ponte Vecchio. Such an amazing piece of construction and townscape. Then on to lunch at Il Santo Bevitore in Via di Santo Spirito in the Oltrarno.

40 | 41

Rome

48 | 49

Rome is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and it never fails to lift my spirits. I think this is due to the amazing abundance of quality architecture there, the variety of elegant public spaces and the ubiquitous presence of history.

I have chosen a sketch of Roman ruins popular with tourists and, opposite, two of a beautiful Renaissance building designed by Donato Bramante located near the Piazza Navona.

I am always surprised that precious ruins seem to be left scattered around parts of the city almost like discarded building rubble, and I love the apparently random constructions of columns in the Forum with their sculptural qualities.

My sketch of the Chiostro del Bramante was carried out from the comfort of my room at the Raphaël Hotel, which conveniently overlooked the cupola.

Rome

48 | 49

Rome is one of the most beautiful cities in the world and it never fails to lift my spirits. I think this is due to the amazing abundance of quality architecture there, the variety of elegant public spaces and the ubiquitous presence of history.

I have chosen a sketch of Roman ruins popular with tourists and, opposite, two of a beautiful Renaissance building designed by Donato Bramante located near the Piazza Navona.

I am always surprised that precious ruins seem to be left scattered around parts of the city almost like discarded building rubble, and I love the apparently random constructions of columns in the Forum with their sculptural qualities.

My sketch of the Chiostro del Bramante was carried out from the comfort of my room at the Raphaël Hotel, which conveniently overlooked the cupola.

Barcelona

I made my first visit to Barcelona in 1992 in some style with the renowned engineer Peter Rice and the important art collector Dominique de Menil to discuss the design of a small chapel in Houston to house some precious Byzantine frescoes.

It was a strange but interesting project, which was not realised, but it gave me a chance to see some of the great architectural sights of the city. We stayed in one of the best hotels, near the cathedral, and visited the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya and the Gaudí buildings. I fell in love with the city and couldn’t wait to return.

I was somewhat overawed by the raw and powerful gothic architecture of Santa Maria del Mar, which offers an intensely Catholic message to its congregation and visitors. It seemed to be pressurising its congregation to behave and believe.

68 | 69

Barcelona

I made my first visit to Barcelona in 1992 in some style with the renowned engineer Peter Rice and the important art collector Dominique de Menil to discuss the design of a small chapel in Houston to house some precious Byzantine frescoes.

It was a strange but interesting project, which was not realised, but it gave me a chance to see some of the great architectural sights of the city. We stayed in one of the best hotels, near the cathedral, and visited the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya and the Gaudí buildings. I fell in love with the city and couldn’t wait to return.

I was somewhat overawed by the raw and powerful gothic architecture of Santa Maria del Mar, which offers an intensely Catholic message to its congregation and visitors. It seemed to be pressurising its congregation to behave and believe.

68 | 69

St Petersburg

In 2007 my office was invited to take part in a competition for the transformation of Apraksin Dvor in St Petersburg. This is the old market area, a bit like Covent Garden, which had become rather run down. It is a huge site full of listed buildings stretching down the Fontanka Canal.

The project involved several visits to St Petersburg over a period of months, during which I got to know this beautiful and romantic city.

Our scheme involved keeping most of the listed buildings on the perimeter and creating a covered area in the centre with a glass tensegrity roof that would continue across the canal above a proposed new bridge.

It is for this reason that, with little time to draw, my sketches concentrate on the buildings near the canal.

The surprising outcome of the competition was a win, which brought us a short period of fame until the project was shelved and ultimately forgotten.

Lomonosov Bridge was constructed in 1785. Its four granite pavilions are topped with domed cupolas. The chains were once part of its drawbridge mechanism.

94 | 95

The Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood was built in the Russian Orthodox romantic style between 1883 and 1907 on the spot where Alexander II was murdered in 1881. It is hard to imagine a more fanciful building, with its fairytale shapes and exuberant colours. It is a joy to see its reflections in the Fontanka Canal.

St Petersburg

In 2007 my office was invited to take part in a competition for the transformation of Apraksin Dvor in St Petersburg. This is the old market area, a bit like Covent Garden, which had become rather run down. It is a huge site full of listed buildings stretching down the Fontanka Canal.

The project involved several visits to St Petersburg over a period of months, during which I got to know this beautiful and romantic city.

Our scheme involved keeping most of the listed buildings on the perimeter and creating a covered area in the centre with a glass tensegrity roof that would continue across the canal above a proposed new bridge.

It is for this reason that, with little time to draw, my sketches concentrate on the buildings near the canal.

The surprising outcome of the competition was a win, which brought us a short period of fame until the project was shelved and ultimately forgotten.

Lomonosov Bridge was constructed in 1785. Its four granite pavilions are topped with domed cupolas. The chains were once part of its drawbridge mechanism.

94 | 95

The Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood was built in the Russian Orthodox romantic style between 1883 and 1907 on the spot where Alexander II was murdered in 1881. It is hard to imagine a more fanciful building, with its fairytale shapes and exuberant colours. It is a joy to see its reflections in the Fontanka Canal.

Tasmania

140 | 141

A view of the mountains from our hotel in Freycinet.

On one of my business trips I took a few days off to visit Tasmania, a beautifully rural island with an impressive landscape, agriculture and remote coastal areas. After visiting Moonah in Hobart, we drove to Freycinet without seeing another car. I wished I had had the Porsche to enjoy the clear, winding roads instead of a small, pink hired car that didn’t hold the road properly.

Tasmania

140 | 141

A view of the mountains from our hotel in Freycinet.

On one of my business trips I took a few days off to visit Tasmania, a beautifully rural island with an impressive landscape, agriculture and remote coastal areas. After visiting Moonah in Hobart, we drove to Freycinet without seeing another car. I wished I had had the Porsche to enjoy the clear, winding roads instead of a small, pink hired car that didn’t hold the road properly.