Bodies and Space in Architectural Drawing

Reimagining architectural drawing as a full-scale, bodily, and spatial practice, Marian Macken and Carl Douglas explore how architects perceive and shape space through drawing, positioning the body not just as a subject but as an active tool for design . Bodies and Space in Architectural Drawing challenges conventional scale relationships and advocates for full-scale, performative drawing methods that expand the boundaries of architectural practice. Drawing becomes a verb-inhabited, present, and embodied-redefining how space is measured, represented, and understood. The authors examine diverse approaches to architectural drawing, including motion-capture and wearable technologies, movement-based drawing, and the role of time and duration. They highlight how drawing can be inhabited by both the drawer and the viewer, offering a dynamic, immersive experience. Through case studies and examples, the book reinstates drawing as a spatial, temporal, and bodily act. Crucially, this book reframes the role of scaled artefacts-models, maps, and drawings-as intermediaries that mobilise architectural thinking. Rather than treating the body as a static reference point, it explores how moving, thinking bodies generate and reside within drawings. This is essential reading for students, practitioners, and researchers in architecture and spatial design seeking to rethink drawing as a performative and conceptual tool

Product details

• Authors: Carl Douglas, Marian Macken
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 09.07.2026
• EAN: 9781350385580
• ISBN: 978-1-350-38558-0
• No. of pages: 240
• Series: Drawing In
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Art > Plastic arts; Architecture, ARCHITECTURE / Design, Drafting, Drawing & Presentation, TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING / Drafting & Mechanical Drawing, Drawing & drawings, Architectural structure and design, Drawing and drawings, Engineering graphics and draughting / technical drawing, Engineering graphics & technical drawing, ART / Techniques / Drawing / General