Hybrid Drawing Book Review






	Hybrid Drawing - Techniques by Contemporary Architects and Designers by M.Saleh Uddin Wiley Press ------------ volume5 review by Deidre Washington









	Furuse House, drawn by Takefumi Aida




	Spirit House 5 by Thomas Sofranko


	I am reminded of a line from the Talmud, “Every blade of grass has its Angel that bends over it and whispers, “Grow, grow.” And with this I am reminded so does every designer have a need to express each of his or her designs in a way that best suits them. Now, M. Saleh Uddin has illustrated this in his publication of Hybrid Drawings: Techniques by contemporary Architects and Designers.




	Outhouse Prototype by Bryan Cantley +KevinO’Donnell


	The process drawings are shown in black and white with a collection of color plates of the work reviewed.

Uddin defines hybrid as the offspring of cross fertilization between, more or less, distantly related parents and these hybrids may occur spontaneously in nature or intentionally by man. In visual communications, “the fusion of two or more drawings results in experimental hybrid graphics”. There is a current trend among architects and designers and students of these disciplines to find a new way of expressing the intent of ones work and how this is presented. All of this allowing for more individualized presentations and in many cases a more effective way to express the emotive qualities of a project. Uddin breaks hybrid graphics down into three categories:

Fusion and superimposition of ideas
Fusion and superimposition of media
Fusion and superimposition of techniques

Many designers in the post modern era have found the break from the spare and purely didactic construction drawings of the Modernists, has allowed them to create more dynamic and expressive presentations. These more compact and integrated presentations also stay within the strict confines of many of the guidelines for international competitions.

Uddin theorizes that requiring students to see the presentation as a whole as opposed to a series of separate drawings aids students in understanding the project and presentation as a whole. As a student of design I have notice my instructors pushing for more creative presentations. Only to bear witness to final presentations that resemble so much in structure they could almost pass as one project.


	Smith - Miller + Hawkinson Architects designed the Corning Glass Center 2000

The book is an easy read with an introduction by Uddin and color plates of sixty-four examples of hybrid graphics. The remainder of the book devotes two pages to each of these examples including a short description of the designers intent, the media used, and in some cases a short biography. It is definitely a must have and a valuable addition to the library of every design student and professional.

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