Baltimore-based architects Carlos Almeida (AECOM), Jerome Gray (Jerome C. Gray Architect), Eric J. Jenkins (University of Maryland), Omar Calderon Santiago (Perkins Eastman) and Gabriel Kroiz (Morgan State University) have organized a small group of sketchers called Baltimore SketchWorks. They invite everyone to help celebrate sketching and the architecture of Baltimore through sketching tours, lectures, and exhibitions. Their first initiative is series of monthly sketching workshops in and around Baltimore.
These architects, with varied backgrounds, practices and career paths, believe in those the inherently human and universal qualities of sketching that link mind and body. While architects in the 21st century must embrace and use the most advanced digital technologies and tools, architects also know that there is a need for “both/and” thinking and working and that practice requires varied tools for varied situations. A sketch’s inaccuracies, mistakes, and “beautiful ugliness” not only allow for, but advances, the design search and connects us to one another. As architect Toshiko Mori notes, “I think the essential aspect of drawing [is that it creates] an immediate relationship between human beings; drawing survived everything. When I go to the world, 90% of places don’t have computers. So, to be able to interact with people, you have to draw. And then people can draw back. It’s still a universal language.”
Workshop 8 – Public Spaces
Date: Saturday, August 12
Time: 10:00am – noon
Location: This session will take place in the Hampden neighborhood. RSVP for exact meeting details.
Bring: pens, pencils or watercolors along with sketch and/or watercolor paper
Architect, educator, and author, Eric Jenkins, will lead a Baltimore SketchWorks workshop that will focus on sketching public space. The group will meet in Hampden and sketch how the public realm (street and sidewalks) interfaces with the private realm (yards, steps, and porches). The workshop is limited to 20 participants. For more information or to register, please email Eric @ ericjenkinsarchitect@gmail.com
Baltimore SketchWorks is an evolving, informal group of Baltimore-based architects and sketchers who celebrate architectural sketching in Charm City. The first initiative of this celebration is a series of once-a-month sketching sessions. For more information, please see the group’s Instagram feed: baltimore_sketchworks or contact Eric Jenkins, AIA (ericjenkinsarchitect@gmail.com). They invite everyone to participate.