In an op-ed for the New York Times in 2012, Michael Graves wrote, “It has become fashionable in many architectural circles to declare the death of drawing… What has happened to our profession, and our art, to cause the supposed end of our most powerful means of conceptualizing and representing architecture?” The legendary architect acknowledged that the computer is needed to present data as well as to produce complex construction documents, but an architect’s hands should never become obsolete as a creative tool. Throughout history, some of the most iconic designs have been conceived on a napkin, scrap of paper, or placemat. Architectural sketches are part of the designer’s thought process and the result of the mind, eyes, and hands working together. MH+D and PSA (Portland Society for Architecture) put out a call to Maine designers to come meet us for a drink at Novare Res Bier Café in downtown Portland to create a napkin sketch of their own. Four prompts were passed out, and each designer could do as many or as few sketches as they liked within the time given. Here are the results.

The napkin sketch is often the most exciting architectural drawing of all. It is a quick ideation of structure, circulation, and composition—a simple exercise that shows how design professionals express their creative solutions.

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Prompts:

Each guest was asked to create a drawing based on one of the following prompts:

• A house you dreamed you would live in as a kid
• A design that doesn’t directly touch the ground
• A new gathering space in Deering Oaks Park
• A design under 500 square feet

Caleb Johnson
AIA, Founder & Principal at Caleb Johnson Studio
Prompt: A design that doesn’t directly touch the ground

“In an ideal world of drinking, sketching on napkins, and socializing with friends, buildings float and their occupants can indefinitely invest in them to meet their clans’ needs; moving them from one location to the next while watching clouds of birds and antique electric airplanes float by, all in perfect harmony, without an ounce of carbon emissions and lots of airborne lounging time on the deck.”

Patrick Boothe
AIA, LEED AP BD+C, Director of Operations/Project Manager at Caleb Johnson Studio
Prompt: A house you dreamed you would live in as a kid

“For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by vertical living. Growing up in rural Ohio, I remember riding by grain silos and thinking how cool it would be to pop a bunch of windows and a spiral stair in there. It would be a perfect lair, with each level serving a different purpose. Truth be told, I have some previous experience with this exercise: I had drawn this section sketch once before when I was about 10 years old on my handy wide-ruled notebook paper. My mom framed the drawing and sent it to me when I graduated from architecture school. When I shared this new sketch with her, she said, “I don’t remember the jail for your big brother?!”

David Duncan Morris
AIA, NCARB, Director of Design at Caleb Johnson Studio
Prompt: A design that doesn’t directly touch the ground

“As a kid, I was fascinated by the Robinson family’s treehouse in The Swiss Family Robinson and these sketches represent a long-imbedded pondering of what it would be like to live in the canopy and soar above the ground. Water is life to me, so I’ve added it into my fantasy.”

Rob Whitten
AIA, Founder & Principal at Whitten Architects
Prompts: (Clockwise from top) A design that doesn’t directly touch the ground, a design under 500 square feet, a new gathering space in Deering Oaks Park

“Napkin sketches are always fun, and they’re a great way to share ideas. The informal materials and casual settings encourage spontaneous, open communication; just hold it lightly and let your hand and eyes do the talking. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Be sure to pin up those early sketches to keep the energy and spirit in sight as the design is developed.”

Jenny Dillon
Architectural Designer at Caleb Johnson Studio
Prompt: A house you dreamed you would live in as a kid

“In hopes of articulating my childhood vision, this napkin sketch house is full of fun shapes and spaces. As you journey toward this home, the front facade is whimsical with an oversized circular entry door and matching circle windows. Once inside, you venture up the very tall spiral staircase to find a grand observatory equipped with an impressive telescope for stargazing. The right side of the plan shows an interior garden/aviary that spills out to the exterior gardens where you can roam the perfectly manicured trees and hedges and take a rest by the gurgling fountain. My architectural influences were Rolie Polie Olie and Meet the Robinsons.”

Russ Tyson
AIA, Principal at Whitten Architects
Prompts: (Top and bottom) A design that doesn’t directly touch the ground (middle designs), a house you dreamed you would live in as a kid

“Sketching on a napkin is fun and challenging. The semi-papery medium forces you to be less precise and instead more instinctive with each blotchy stroke. What results is a conceptual depiction of what’s on your mind that invites you toward further thought and exploration.”

Liz Trice
Principal at Maine Cooperative Development Partners
Prompts: (Top to bottom) A new gathering space in Deering Oaks Park, a house you dreamed you would live in as a kid, a design that doesn’t directly touch the ground

“I love the idea of creating spaces that allow us to enjoy nature wherever we are!”

George Workman
Principal Landscape Architect at Geowork+Design
Prompts: (Top to bottom) A design that does not directly touch the ground, a house you dreamed you would live in as a kid, a design that does not directly touch the ground

“An evening of repast with colleagues is a joy when ordinary table napkins can become a tableau vivant of freely expressed ideas.”

Nick Aceto
Principal Landscape Architect at ALA
Prompts: A new gathering space in Deering Oaks Park

“I chose the third prompt, a new space for Deering Oaks Park, drawing inspiration and direction from the other three because that’s what we do as designers: combine, synergize, and create new and unexpected things that solve important problems. I envisioned canopy homes, assembled and inserted gently within the tall hardwood canopy, scattered throughout the park. The canopy homes would be homes for the unhoused, in the heart of the park, integrated within the urban forest.”

Ryan Stokes
Senior Project Manager at Wright-Ryan
Prompt: A design that doesn’t directly touch the ground

“It was such a pleasure to be able to sit down, sketch and share a drink with the Whitten Architects team. Thank you to PSA and MH+D for putting on this great event at Novare Res.”