PLA prides itself on its capacity to produce eye-catching renditions of design projects. We love to engage in the representational process, be it for a project study for a client or a more speculative or theoretical design investigation.
In either case, through the creative process we consider the best ways to explore and represent spaces, forms, materials, tectonics, people, and the spaces they occupy. We do this through the use of multiple media, digital or analog, often mixing the two. We invite our clients to participate by witnessing and engaging in our process of crafting compelling images and beautiful spaces.
We are also available to assist other firms in manifesting their special representational projects.
Drawing gallery categories include Digital Renderings, Pastels and Watercolors, Design Process Sketches, Charcoal Studies, Collages, Hybrid Drawings (digital and analog), General Sketches, and Napkin Sketches.
Digital Renderings
Digital renderings powered by scientifically designed software tools have expanded our ability to create, re-create and render any imaginable physical reality. Levels of realistic rendering continue to improve and evolve, yet their seemingly perfect renditions often fail to capture a place’s essence or soul. The introduction of chance, accidents, or human intervention can override mechanically generated digital images, creating something quite magical. That is where the artist intervenes with skill and spirit. Artists include Roni Santos, Alex Hogrefe, Josh MacDonald, Alison Malouf, Matt Ostrow, Dave Garazza, and others.
Pastels & Watercolors
Ideal for capturing the subtleties of landscape, light, materials and texture, pastels and watercolors render a softer, more ambiguous sense of architecture and its context, hinting at, if not defining, a new reality rich in possibilities. Artists include Paul Lukez and Jie Zhao.
Design Process Sketches
Designing with intent focuses the mind and imagination as design solutions are sought, often using multiple forms of representation (section, plan, elevation, 3D) simultaneously.
Charcoal Studies
Designing with intent focuses the mind and imagination as design solutions are sought, often using multiple forms of representation (section, plan, elevation, 3D) simultaneously.
Collages
Bringing dissimilar materials, textures and surfaces together can be a strong prelude to the architectural design process, if not the final design. The imagination is liberated by the constraints of typical modes of drawing, and representation as buildings, spaces, images, text, materials, and chance combinations of any or all of the above are brought together in a collage. Artists include Ben Grammann, Matt Ostrow, Paul Lukez, and others.
Hybrid Drawings (Digital and Analog)
A whole genre of drawing types combining digital and hand drawing has emerged over the past few years. Scanning hand drawings onto underlaid digital images gives life to computer drawings, especially if re-scanned and layered iteratively with pastels, watercolors or other Photoshop edits. Artists include Paul Lukez, Andrew Luy, Benjamin Gramman, Mat Ostrow, Jie Zhao and others.
Sketches
Napkin Sketches
Unencumbered by preciousness, spontaneously generated sketches on napkins and other leftover surfaces can yield surprising images and concepts.
