Robin

For @pairs.gsd 5, I was in conversation with @garciafrankowski / @waithinktank about drawings from the Albert Szabo and Brenda Dyer Szabo Collection at @harvardgsd @harvardgsdlibrary

The collection includes extensive material from their research in Afghanistan between 1974 and 1976, including drawings of different buildings and studies of how environmental factors and the cultural heritage of their inhabitants shaped the dwellings they constructed. It is not unlike more contemporary surveys, such as Atelier Bow Wow's Pet Architecture in Tokyo.

We spoke about the meaning of such surveys and the ways in which abstraction through drawing produces an authoritative interpretation of context. We also discussed why we are drawn to beautiful drawings, how to acknowledge their inherent subjectivity, and who the audience for these drawings actually is.