Getting it Right: Architecture Design
Without the aid of CAD use your sketching techniques to explore architectural concepts for your building. After satisfying all the functional and regulatory requirements, and the physical factors of the potential building, such as number of floors, building size and height, site coverage and set back requirements, the image of the tower will be explored using quick thumbnail sketches.
Choose the station point that would best illustrate the building in its context. Shoot a photograph of the view then sketch the surrounding conditions from the photograph to create a template. Since the thumbnail sketches of your building will not be heavily detailed, the template should only be detailed / sketched to compliment the last sketch of the building. Your buildings will fit conformably in the overall concept sketches.
Sketchingjourney's Blog 
Don’t be mislead by these thumbnail sketches. They were not generated at the start of the architecture design process, but rather after a long, detailed study of the physical and functional requirements of the client’s program; the building code and site planning requirements; as well as the budget and financial targets.
As I developed each sketch I had very specific ideas what the lines in each building sketch represent. The sketches are not random ideas to create images. They are finished architectural towers in my mind represented by my thumbnail sketches.
Love the depth of field in these, the second, third or the sixth building personally I feel are the most visually appealing.
Brilliant idea for the template, something I will try to use!
The template, of course, was sketched on tracing paper ontop of the photograph, then several tracing paper copies were made. I prefer ink and magic markers on tracing paper. The final building is close to the 2nd sketch! Believe it or not, the process from assembling the sites to the occupation of the built design took almost 10 years!