Sketchingjourney's Blog

Shanghai’s 1933 Slaughterhouse

Errol Hugh — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:19:52 +0000

Design, Imagination & Sketching

Errol Hugh — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 11:24:07 +0000

It’s a bright, sunny day in a residential development circumscribed by large high rise office towers and shopping arcades. All buildings are connected by air conditioned pedestrian corridors and bridges. They intertwine like ‘snakes’ above the terrain creating landscape enclaves and pockets of treasured and manicured plant species, but never a resting space for shoppers or visitors. There is lush vegetation and heavily detailed facades throughout the ground and first floor levels. The pedestrian …

My Architecture Anthology: 1993 & Beyond.

Errol Hugh — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:25:25 +0000

Reblogged from Archi Blog:

Architectural design process always starts with a blank page, similar to the process of free-hand sketching, however it is far more complex and thought provoking. That’s a simplified way of looking at what is usually a long and difficult process. Besides analyzing the client’s requirements, the site assets and restrictions, the building code and planning statuary requirements, the non quantifiable considerations must also be part of the analysis. Many theorists have tried to label a systematic …

Notes on Architectural Renderings

Errol Hugh — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 01:22:46 +0000

Reblogged from Archi Blog:

Finished architectural renderings usually look static and generally lack highlights. They want to be photographic quality but they cannot compete with photographs. Renderers try to show everything. A good photographer will select a composition that tells a story. Renderers should use the rendering quality to tell and enhance a ‘story’. CAD renderers usually become bogged-down with the nature of the software – 3D Studio as well as SketchUp. They need to understand how best to use the software to …

Helsinki International Airport

Errol Hugh — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:50:01 +0000

Leafing through my sketchbooks I discovered I made sketches of air planes at several International Airports including; Vancouver (1973), Alaska (1995), Lyon (France 2003), Narita (Japan 2004), Vancouver (2010), Hong Kong (2010 and 2011) and more recently Helsinki (June 2011). However the sketches at Lyon and Alaska did not include planes. I recall while seated in the transit lounge at Alaska airport I could not see the planes, so I ended up sketching the control tower! At the Lyon airport I was travelling with the Hong Kong Institute of Architects and I was too fascinated with Santiago Calatrava’s airport building and instead of sketching a plane I did a sketch of the interior of the building and the taxi stand!

On the journey to Berlin on the 5^th June 2011, Finnair made the stop-over at Helsinki International Airport, and while waiting to board flight AY911 it was my chance to sketch yet another flying machine.

The Helsinki Airport is the main international airport of not only the Helsinki metropolitan region but the whole of Finland. The terminal building is quaint and restrained a reflection of European Modernist Architectural style and interestingly, I could see the planes from the departure lounge!

The lounge next to the gate that would lead to flight AY911 was very busy and not knowing how much time I would have to do the sketch, I quickly made this sketch to capture the essence of the activity. The aircraft tow truck was still at the fore of the plane when I started the sketch, and the baggage trucks were moving in to unload the baggage, while the gangplank was already in place. This photo was taken as I was about to board the flight.

Vancouver International Airport

Errol Hugh — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:34:18 +0000

Airports are interesting places to visit, however most airports designs are functionally planned for the efficient arrival and departure of air travelers, and never for the casual visitor to “see” the magnificent flying machines.

I am always mystified and amazed to see these marvelous wonder machines take off and soar into the sky. I am also intrigued and interested in the preparation rules that the plane goes through after landing and before departure.

With military precision the ground crews swarm over the airplane with their equipment, removing the passenger’s baggage, refueling the tanks, uploading cargo and new passenger’s baggage and finally conducting a routine exterior safety check.

My sketch tries to capture such activities while waiting to board Air Canada flight 07 at the Vancouver International Airport on the 15^th January 2010, a flight bound for Toronto, Ontario.

2011 in review

Errol Hugh — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:47:39 +0000

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 30,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 11 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Reflections and the Journey after my Published Sketchbook

Errol Hugh — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 13:18:45 +0000

A sequel to an event is not an easy task. I have been asked many times when will I release a sequel to my sketchbook. Writing ‘A Personal Journey through Sketching: The Sketcher’s Art’, was encouraged by relatives and friends who saw and knew of my works and sketches. They opined that I had ‘something’ that I should ‘pass on’ to others. The foundation (my sketches) was already done. They were the last throve for a potential publication, while the drawings are progressions of my personal style of sketching. Committed to show my sketching techniques to interest others, I started this Blog on Sketching. Hopefully to interest a wider audience, not only CAD-shrewd graduates, but also the readers who has access to internet.

You perhaps normally will associate the word ‘journey’, in the title of the sketchbook, as referring to the places and cities that I visited. ‘The Sketcher’s Art’, however, is to give empathy to the aims of my sketching process and not to the places visited. Looking back at the chronological order of the sketches, as they seem in the book, you will also notice that my sketching techniques became more complex towards the end of the book. This is another aspect of my ‘journey’ that I wished readers would grasp.

Architectural design is a complex procedure, and every architect will tell you that they each have a personal ‘journey’ through their design process. Iconic designs are only produced after intensive research and hard work. The same is true to develop a personal style in sketching. Not the process of doing a single sketch, but the ‘process’ over a time, days, months or years. The sketches in my book covers a period of more than five months, between September 2008 and February 2009, on visits to places in Hong Kong, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Cape Canaveral, and Macau. The journey to these cities was not planned, but while visiting them, for personal reason, I sketched projects and places as the opportunity arose. My sketchbook travels with me and the same should be for you too.

Piazza San Marco, Venice.

Errol Hugh — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 17:45:01 +0000

St. Mark’s Square is a busy place, overflowing with tourist and buzzing with activities. Restorations were being carried out on the Clocktower and the Basilica, and with the construction hoarding in some areas; the square appears extremely busy and congested. I wanted to sketch the Tower together with the Basilica but because the entire square was dominated by the overflow of the bars and restaurants I could not find a location where I could sit privately and sketch. As a result Daphne and I had to sit in a restaurant precinct, and were obliged to purchase tea and pastry. At least I was able to sketch without being interrupted.

I started by sketching the north end of the Libreria to the left side of my sketchbook, illustrated by the colonnade elevation and the cantilevered awning. To the right side of my page I then added the other colonnade façade of the Procuratie Vecchie together with the clock tower.

Since I have never seen the square without the construction hoarding I included it, and I filled in the foreground with people at table and chairs. Finally the Basilica of San Marco, at the eastern end of the Piazza, was sketched as the focus of the composition.

Richard Meier’s Jubilee Church, Rome Italy

Errol Hugh — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 08:00:50 +0000

The Jubilee Church whose religious name is Dives in Misericordia (Mercy of God), designed by Richard Meier, is situated in the district of Tor Tre Teste about six miles east of central Rome. Its three dramatic concrete shells have raised it to be known as one of the world-class iconic landmark of contemporary architecture. It is strikingly impressive in this middle class housing neighborhood.

Daphne and I took the light rail transit to get to the site, but eventually we had to hail a taxi to finally get us there. Unfortunately the church was closed. Not to be disappointed we walked around the triangular site keenly observing and photographing details that we know which are typical of Richard Meier. As one approaches the church from the north, the lines of access is so carefully planned that one is naturally drawn directly towards the entrance, where a glimpse of the nave at the southern end, can be seen through the glazed entry sidelight.

Spellbound by the beautiful white concrete shells that resemble a smooth marble finish, I choose the station point for my sketch that would stress the importance of the curvature of the structure, yet not dominate the compositional form of the overall architecture. These concrete shells at the western side discreetly representing the Holy Trinity (The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit), stand in contrast to the solid rectangular bell tower, while they seem to cast “protection” over the church.

The Jubilee Church is not a traditional church so to speak. It is a modern iconic church in the likes of Le Corbusier’s Chapel at Ronchamp and Sainte Marie de La Tourette, and more recently the church of Saint-Pierre de Firminy. The concrete “sails”, the skylights and the overall architectural form sets it aside from being a traditional church, and without doubt symbolically it has the distinction of being a spiritual manifestation of a place for worship. Interesting to note that Richard Meir had the opportunity of presenting his design to Pope John Paul II an event comparable to Michelangelo’s presentation of the Sistine Chapel ceiling to Pope Julius II in 1508.