Over the last few decades technology has replaced so many things within architectural practice. Rotring pens, T-squares, drafting boards, lightboxes and blueprinting have all disappeared. Possibly the only thing left from the olden ways is the sketchbook, but now even that has joined the endangered list.

The sketchbook remains an integral part of The WOLF process because we still encourage our designs to begin through hand drawings. The art of sketching in recent times has been lost in favor of computers and advanced drawing software. Wolf Architects still use all the latest technology to aid in the process, but there is a fundamental connection between our brains and the movement of our hands. When a Wolf Architect draws a line to represent a wall, for example, they sense the length of the wall with their hand movement. There is sensitivity towards the overall spaces and concepts by doing this frequently and repeatedly.
Sketching by hand is also faster than drawing on a device, even those that make use of a stylus. Ideas can therefore be teased out faster by hand, and the brain is then able to process and develop the designs accordingly. Sketches are all about communicating ideas quickly, and therefore you don’t have to be an artist to do them. Sketches at WOLF Architects take anywhere from a few seconds to a minute, and while they are not necessarily beautiful, we do expect them to be neat, clear and worthy of publishing.

At Wolf Architects we encourage sketching with a pencil as this allows for line thickness, weight and shading. Incorrect lines should simply be drawn over, as erasers slow things down and make a mess. Everyone at WOLF Architects has a sketchbook, and all drawings within them are kept as a visual record. Our sketchbooks are usually black with fine-textured blank pages within. 

The ultimate sketchbook in our opinion is the one made by a local Thai brand called Labrador.

http://www.labradorfactory.net/

Presently used by our artistic directors, this is a beautiful minimalistic leather-covered book. To learn more about this book you can visit our design review on it here:

https://review.wolfarchitects.design/labrador-leather-covered-sketchbook-2017/

Unfortunately, this book does not appear to be available online, so the only way to see one in the flesh is to come into one of our WOLF studios. Many of our dream creations were conceived initially in sketchbooks like these. Take a look at one in action here:

https://youtu.be/S4fZ1wl3Xzg?t=13