How Architecture Is Born: 12 Joyful Sketches by CEBRA and the Buildings They Helped Shape

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When you ask an architect how they first became interested in design, the answer usually involves a combination of LEGO, video games and messing around with modeling clay at kindergarten. There is one medium that surely resonates with us more than any other, though: good, old-fashioned pen and paper. Sketching appeals to creative minds in all fields, a fast but powerful method of idea generation that is perfectly suited to the design process of architecture.

From whimsical doodles to intricate illustrations, the only limit on the potential of pen and paper is an architect’s imagination. Danish firm CEBRA has harnessed this lo-tech medium to wonderful effect in recent projects, using playful drawings as a conceptual driver. Here, we present 12 sketches from the practice together with the architecture that evolved from them. Each sketch tells us so much about how a simple visual narrative can culminate in great buildings:

Ink sketches and watercolor illustration – Inspiration for HF and VUC Fyn, Odense, Denmark

These three sketches each illustrate a key concept showing how the physical form of the HF and VUC educational complex is influenced by the natural movement and activities of its inhabitants. The first drawing demonstrates how the external volume is carved to open up the entrance to people and to facilitate views across the city and waterfront.

The second drawing indicates how a conical seating area — like an inverted amphitheater — means that all the activities can be viewed from the building’s central atrium, promoting social cohesion throughout the complex. Finally, a magazine-style watercolor artwork envisions the building’s most significant feature: a series of offset floor plates around a central atrium emphasizing the visual connection between programs that lends the center its vibrant, social atmosphere.

Ink sketches and watercolor illustration – Inspiration for Children’s Home of the Future, Kerteminde, Denmark

The sketches behind the Children’s Home of the Future beautifully portray the conceptual process without the need for words. The first illustration evokes the diagrammatic sequences of Bjarke Ingels, showing how a homogenous structure could be “cut” to create a permeable building with a more domestic scale.

The second doodle explores the formal qualities of different architectural typologies, exploring how their strengths could be harnessed for CEBRA’s hybrid model, combining an institutional program with a residential form. Finally, a vibrant “Merry Christmas” watercolor reveals how the manipulation of traditional, pitch-roofed structures and dormers could open up new and varied spatial experiences throughout the house.

Ink sketches and watercolor illustration – Inspiration for Bülowsvej School, Frederiksberg, Denmark

Drawn at the beginning of the design process for a Danish school, the first sketch – a playful exploded isometric that evokes a traditional dolls house – explores the possibilities of stacking varied internal spaces and roofscapes. The second illustration, inspired by the interlocking pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, forms a study of programmatic relationships throughout the building.

Finally, the watercolor illustration adopts lighthearted imagery from childhood, with letter and number stencils hinting at the link between the school’s two primary functions: education and play. Below, a further isometric of the building illustrates how the school’s perforated exterior might lend it a warm, welcoming glow that represents a ‘second home’ for children.

Ink sketches and watercolor illustration – Inspiration for Streetdome, Haderslev, Denmark

Designed in collaboration with skate park designers Glifberg+Lykke, the 15,000-square-foot Streetdome needed to be thought out on a macro scale. The first sketch explores the park’s relationship with the Haderslev harbor and the surrounding town, while the second — an exploded axonometric and elevation — explores the multipurpose nature of the park’s central dome.

Lastly, CEBRA’s brilliant parody of classic skateboard magazine Thrasher features the new park on the front cover. The hairy character grinding the edge of the bowl appears to be holding a T-square — perhaps in homage to the architect behind it? Either way, this colorful artwork brilliantly captures the playful atmosphere of the finished park.

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