How to Develop a Design Concept in Architecture - 1 Hour Challenge

Follow along as I take you through a full one hour design challenge, developing a pavilion lookout and cafe at Ponta da Atalaia on the Atlantic coast of Portugal, moving from a 1:500 site plan through to a 1:200 plan, sections, perspectives, parti diagrams and a final axonometric, all done with the intent to move as quickly and freely as possible.

This is a condensed video of my full lesson available right now on my Online Architecture Studio 'Sketching in Architecture' with a downloadable worksheet and design brief provided to follow along and attempt yourself.

You can join now at: www.patreon.com/cw/mckernarchitecture

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Developing a design concept can sometimes feel overwhelming especially early on in the design process, but this challenge is about understanding how to move through a design process with intention, responding to context and allowing yourself to think freely without getting bogged down in the details. Each drawing type is used to answer a specific question about the project and push the idea forward.

We cover the full sequence in order, what each drawing needs to resolve, what to include and what to leave out, and how each stage feeds into the next to support an overall preliminary scheme. The parti diagrams are where the concept gets locked in and everything after that is about communicating and testing that idea.

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Download my free book 'Sketching as an Architect' now via the link below and visit my website to view my other courses: www.mckernarchitecture.com

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Let me know what you would like to see in the next video below.

Gear I use:
Sketchbook + Trace Paper (Baking Paper)
Unipen Fineliners / Technical Pens
Graphite Pencils 2B-HB
Scale Ruler + Set Square

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:50 Site Context & Existing Conditions
02:11 Masterplan & Plan (1 to 500)
03:30 Floor Plan Development (1 to 200)
05:35 Moving into Perspective Views
07:44 Parti Diagrams
08:34 Section Drawing (1 to 200)
12:45 Outro