Books like Operative Design by Anthony di Mari

An illustrated guide showing how to capture and communicate urban form—from quick sketches to advanced computer models—providing practical techniques and lessons for planners, architects, and students.

Buildings always begin as drawings. As concepts on paper, architectural drawings are essential to planning, designing, and executing structures. Conversely, buildings can also inspire drawings. In The Art of Architectural Drawing: Imagination and Technique, Thomas Schaller examines the interdependence of architectural drawing, art, and the built environment. He explores the symbiotic relationship between the fine art of architectural drawing, the artistic nature of standing edifices, and architecture in art. The Art of Architectural Drawing: Imagination and Technique compares various ways an artist can portray a building, from creating images that present proposed actual structures to completing those that convey purely hypothetical concepts. Within this context of graphic response to architectural ideas, Mr. Schaller distinguishes between art, architecture, drawing, illustration, and design. This thought-provoking volume is far more than a how-to book. While it covers many of the technical aspects of rendering architecture, it is primarily an examination of the creative impulse involved in its design. Looking to the future of architecture through the lens of the past, Schaller explores the artistic processes of Le Corbusier and Frank Lloyd Wright, as well as many top contemporary architects. This book encompasses history, theory, technique, and perception in architectural drawing. From the moment of its conception, the author seeks to discover the creative impulse behind the image.