Drink + Sketch 2023
Maine architects and designers prove the hand can’t be replaced
We decided to test how strong the connection is between our hands and minds. What happens when designers step away from the screen and sit at a table with their peers and create? For a third year in a row, we put out a call to Maine designers to come meet us for a drink at Novare Res Bier Cafe in downtown Portland to create a napkin sketch. All participants were given a drink, a pen (however, as you might have guessed, many brought their own), a cocktail napkin, and five prompts.
Architectural sketches are part of the designer’s toolbox—the result of their mind, eyes, and hands working together. Hand-drawn sketches can reduce production problems that may occur when using tools like SketchUp, Revit, AutoCAD, or AI. The human mind and hand can connect with the pen to show a contractor how to work through a tricky construction element or to quickly illustrate to a client how a design concept would exist in reality. Undeniably, computer-generated design documents are valuable, and needed, later on, but the architect’s hand will always be a critical and relevant creative tool.
Throughout history, some of the most iconic designs have been conceived on a napkin, scrap of paper, or placemat. Here are the results from this year’s gathering. Thank you to Knickerbocker Group and the Portland Society for Architecture for sponsoring this event and bringing our design community together.
Prompts:
+ Design your version of Barbie’s Dreamhouse
+ Design for a natural phenomenon (light, wind, snow) in Maine
+ Sketch a beer garden labyrinth
+ Sketch a new performance center in Portland
+ Design a seaside capsule hotel
Ed Wolfe
Construction Project Manager
Knickerbocker Group
“A home intended to amplify the nature of a blustery, snowy Maine hillside (4). The mechanics of snow drifts are mysterious to me. Would this design stay remarkably snow-free, or would it fill with snow completely? I would be thrilled with either result.”
Rick Nelson
ARCHITECTURE PRACTICE LEADER
Knickerbocker Group
“In the craft beer hub of the universe, who doesn’t dream about spending a warm, sunny afternoon enjoying a hoppy IPA in the dappled sunlight beneath the canopy of a mature oak grove? A place where you can relax, meet with friends, and unwind from a hectic week of trying to figure out how to make a cornucopia function as a music hall…”
Greg Norton
Senior Project Designer
Knickerbocker Group
“Having grown up in South Portland, I’ve always been fascinated with Fort Gorges. The thought of a Harpa-like glass and steel event center (2), contrasting against the granite and lit up like some beacon, felt fun three beers into the evening.”
Eric Wittman
Senior Project Designer, Architecture
Knickerbocker Group
“I pictured Ms. Roberts giving up her Malibu address for a tiny home/van (1), allowing her to visit Maine’s own Acadia National Park. The sketch is black and white, but I’m sure the van would be some shade of pink while rocking the original Maine flag on the side.”
Tyler Doherty
CAD/BIM Manager
Knickerbocker Group
“Have a Shining good time getting lost in the Beer
Garden Labyrinth (1)!”
Sarah Prak
Senior Marketing and Brand Designer
Knickerbocker Group
Rob Whitten
Founder & Principal
Whitten Architects
“In the Barbie Dreamhouse (1), three long legs come together to support a small elevated room with an enclosed heart. The counter balanced buckets lift you up and a
curving slide takes you down. All in pink!”
Alyssa Phanitdasack
Architect
Whitten Architects
“Thinking of different ways to create unique experiences of being fully submersed in site.”
Alex Haba
Designer
Whitten Architects
“There is something about a labyrinth (3) that makes you stumble onto anything—including reaching into a garden wall and finding a beer tap. Maybe I’ll stay awhile…”
John Hogan
Account Executive
Creative Office Resources
“I was inspired by the film’s brilliant set design and imagined a stiletto-inspired Dreamhouse (1). I started drawing the heel and realized it only made sense for it to be an elevator which services Barbie’s penthouse and rooftop suite (sorry, Ken—Barbies only).”
Quinn Wilcox
Architectural Designer
Kaplan Thompson
“Maine’s maritime culture is the backbone of Portland’s success as not-just-another-tourist-town. Red nuns (2) are a tool for coastal navigation and the impetus for this floating hotel. Guests arrive dockside and enjoy views from the upper-level suites and bar, or descend into the depths for dining and deep-sea encounters. The Green Can is soon to come!”
Olivia Bogert
Office Manager
Kaplan Thompson
“Most rooflines shed snow and runoff away from a building. Perhaps because I am not a designer and thereby do not abide by the laws of engineering, building science, and general physics, I have dared to instead funnel that precipitation inwards for this conceptual post-ski establishment. The stovepipe melts the rooftop snowfall and channels it downward to create that cold shower everyone craves after spending time outside in winter. Shower runoff, in turn, drains outside and freezes instantly into an ice-skating rink.”
David Duncan Morris
Director, Residential Studio
Woodhull
“Getting ready to take off for distant lands! Let the wind blow you somewhere new! No packing required…take it all with you!”
Kevin Browne
Founder & Principal
Kevin Browne Architecture
“This was a fun exercise to dream about design without regulations, being able to design a space, a little retreat, on the rocky and rugged shoreline. The three stories of small spaces are connected by an exterior circulation path that encircles the structure. A vertical ellipse, connected to the top of the bank via a catwalk. The spaces include a rooftop deck, a floor-to-ceiling, glass bedroom, and a living space with a deck stretching inches from the water.”
Andrea Dibello
Interior Designer
Kevin Browne Architecture
Lauren Angst
Project Manager/Designer
Kevin Browne Architecture
“There is something thrilling about finding a path and embarking on a journey, not knowing where it will take you, thus is the exploration of this sketch (2).”
Stephen McHale
Principal
Beyer Blinder Belle
“I looked around me to see what someone could use to make a labyrinth in a beer garden (1), and of course you need a reward at the end!”
Ryan Scipione
Partner
MJM+A Architects
“Say hello to the Barbie Dreamhouse: Rocky Maine Coast Edition. Clearly Barbie has her fill of warm tropical retreats, so this naturally seems like the next progression of her collection of exquisite properties. However, with her fame, the retreat must fly under the radar, hence the access point through the unsuspecting one-story cape, with the bulk of the real structure cut into the rocky south-facing cliffside below. Take the stairs down to the first few lower levels at which point the elevator is available to access all remaining floors of the home. The main living, dining, and kitchen is found at the lowest levels, with sleeping rooms mid-height of the nine-story.”
Amy Bonsall
Founder
Scandicamp Designs
“Maine living is about being immersed in nature. In this sketch, I’ve imagined a home that amplifies all the natural occurrences: a sweeping deck that allows the occupants to catch the sunset as it moves across the horizon throughout the year, a cozy fire pit to stay outside long into the winter, and a steep, pitched metal roof that makes the most delightful sounds during rainstorms and lets snow slide off in the winter.”
Kavya Seshachar
Designer
Whipple Callender Architects
“Traveling through labyrinths (3) is supposed to be chaotic, confusing, fun and games. You will never know what you may find. Some players are methodical, some are straight up cheaters. You will find what you need eventually—but what is it that you want to find? A place to pee? A place to just lie down a little bit? Or go for the bigger prize?”
Matthew Cunningham
Founder & Principal
Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design
“I got completely stumped on how to draw a Barbie Dreamhouse. I am terrible at drawing people—especially hands—so my version of Barbie has lobster claws for hands (2). My vision for the beer garden labyrinth (1) imagines a winding path through Maine native plants dotted with all kinds of craft beer cans and bottles.”
Johanna Cairns
Associate
Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design
“I’ve just gotten back from a beautiful walking trip in Spain where I was surrounded by Gothic cathedrals, which was on my mind as I sketched my dream coastal abode (1).”
Steven Mansfield
Senior Associate
Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design
“You always have something more to move towards, something more to learn from.”
Karl Alamo
Designer
Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design
“I grew up in Boothbay, where connections with the water and coastal environment are foundational to its fishing community. I spent my childhood exploring the area, rich with rocky land and forests cradled between two rivers. Two rills dissect a walk of granite, rich with native Maine plants under trees—a design for water, a love letter to my early life.”
Sigurd Sandzén
Associate
Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design
“This is a sketch design for a sculpture that’s been in my head for awhile. It works as both a water and winter sculpture, gathering snow and moving it down the slope as it warms, hitting each diagonal transition along the way. This mimics the patterns of cross-country skis moving up an incline and celebrates the beauty inherent in outdoor recreation.”
John Mucciarone
Senior Project Manager
ZeroEnergy Design
“Leisure Living at the Seaside Resort. Encapsulate yourself in a life of relaxation and rest.”
Rachel Conly
Founder & Design Director
Juniper Design + Build
“At Juniper, we work hard and take our craft very seriously, but we also value play and humor to nurture our creativity and strive for a healthy work-life balance.”
Heather Thompson
Founder & General Manager
Juniper Design + Build
“Everyone needs a place to recover after an evening at the Lager Labyrinth. Why not recover with us and spend your weekend at Ibuprofen Island? We have a convenient ferry service for shuttling to and from the Lager Labrinth. Electrolyte water, coffee, eggs, and donuts for breakfast available for an additional charge.”
Henri Bizindavyi
Designer
Juniper Design + Build
“My deepest architectural aspiration is to create a sense of harmony with nature. In light of this, I visualized a capsule that integrates and unites the interior with its habitat. This sketch captures the essence of this concept by manipulating form, texture, and materials, all while offering a breathtaking view, providing a means to achieve a balance between the capsule, its occupants, and the environment.”
Andrew Ashey
Founding Principal
AAMP Studio
“I approached the Drink and Sketch by giving myself 30 seconds to quickly jot down the first thing that came to mind with each prompt. With the brevity of the exercise, I tried to distill my thought to the essence of what each space was without losing a sense of identity and iconography.”
Lexi White
Project Designer
AAMP Studio
“If gravity and money weren’t issues, I think we’d see a
ton of cabins suspended off cliffs (3)!”
Charlie Payne
Project Manager & Architect
AAMP Studio
“Great prompts and lots of fun conversation! My sketches wouldn’t have been the same without the helpful critiques provided by our neighbors. Excited to join again next year.”