Sketches are capable of conveying visual compilations that defy nature, such as unusual combinations that do not necessitate the logic of the connections. In a similar way, the exaggeration of specific features helps architects to understand particular aspects of immediate focus in their design process. The concentration may involve solving a specific problem, such as a detail, view or question of form. Exaggeration may assist to study an element more intently. As seen above, Morten Schmidt focused on the space between the two curved walls and the relative perforation of these walls, thus his immediate concern was not structure or dimensions. Architects through history, such as Hugh Ferriss, have used sketches to demonstrate conceptual notions of the building’s presence in the context of a city. By the use of dramatic lighting, Ferriss exaggerated the height of a building to elicit a fantastical, and often inspirational, impression. The Italian Futurist architect Sant’Elia evoked a technological future in his dramatic sketches and, in a similar way, Cesar Pelli employed his sketch (Figure 3.13) to visualize the Petronas Twin Towers in the light of the Malaysian atmosphere. This page of sketches by the Chicago architect Helmut Jahn (Figure 4.12) considers a high rise building in the context of a city. Helmut Jahn is the design principal of Murphy/Jahn. Their work has received many AIA Chicago Chapter awards, several Structural Engineering awards, and a national AIA award. A large and prolific firm, a few of their more recent projects include the Shanghai International Expo Center; FKB Airport Cologne/Bonn; the European Union Headquarters in Brussels; and the IIT Student Housing in Chicago. This densely rendered page is a study for the 362 West Street building in Durban, South Africa. This analysis sketch carefully explores the building’s footprint on the site with figure/ground diagrams. On this page, Jahn investigates three variations for the building across the top of the page. The second row of sketches examines several additional variations on the octagonal-shaped first option. These systematically presented sketches are beautiful in their record of a thought process,
FIGURE 4.12
Helmut Jahn; 362 West Street Building, Durban, South Africa. 88