This time for our drawing spotlight section, we have Paul Rudolph, he was an American architect and the chair of Yale University’s Department of Architecture for six years, known for his use of concrete and highly complex floor plans.
People talk about his major works, but we are here to talk about his amazing drawings.
Lippo Center, 1984


Paul Rudolph was not a complex intellectual. He preferred to let his drawings and buildings speak for themselves.
23 Beekman Place, 1977-1995

The architectural drawing techniques developed by Paul Rudolph are unique, vibrant in their manual execution and a trademark for which he is now justly famous.
Wisma Dharmala building, 1982-1988

They concentrate on the sequence of producing presentation drawings; from conception to sketch to final design with drawings that encompass plans, elevations and, particularly, sections that bring a quality of three-dimensional representation to the design process.
Fort Lincoln housing, 1968

His single-point perspectives imposed on an accurately drawn section are an immaculate way of portraying the internal space and character of a building at these formative stages.
Lower Manhattan Expressway, 1970

By illustrating the scheme realistically with as much detail, texture and shadows as possible, his techniques attempt to bring the building prematurely to life, to assist both the designer and the client to visualize the building while it is still only a drawing.
Christian Science Building,1962 -1967

Rudolph explains the complex interaction between sketches, renderings and the design process: ‘Buildings which have been designed but were never built still exist for me, if for no one else’.
Yale Art and Architecture Building, 1964

All of the images were taken from Library of Congress, and biography text from Paul Rudolph Foundation.