Tools of the Imagination: Drawing Tools and Technologies from the Eighteenth Century to the Present

Book Overview

The construction of a building is fascinating to watch, as the symbiosis between man and machine turns what seem to be scattered piles of material into architecture. But before the tools of construction ever arrive on the site, the architect wields a different set of tools to design, develop, and document the building-to-be. The history of these drawing tools is one of invention and innovation. In a profession increasingly dominated by the computer, earlier toolsfrom the compass to the helicograph, ellipsograph, and volutor; from perspective charts to slopes and batters; from Mylar to modeling clayare beautiful artifacts of a bygone day. Along with historical objects, the National Building Museum has collected wooden models by Frank Gehry and hand-drawn sketches by Tod Williams, showing that the tools of the imagination are still very much a part of architectural design. Covering 250 years of design tools and technologies, Tools of the Imagination: Drawing Tools and Technologies from the Eighteenth Century to the Present takes a revealing look at how architects have produced the drawings, models, renderings, and, now, animations that show us the promise of what might be built. The book includes a wide array of these tools as well as drawings, renderings, and sketches from well-known architects such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and I. M. Pei.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568985991
• ISBN13: 9781568985992
• Release Date: November 2006
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
• Length: 124 Pages
• Weight: 1.24 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.6" x 0.6" x 8.1"
• Age Range: 13 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 8 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Nice overview of the technologies, but a little hard to read

Bought this book as a gift for my dad who has been a plumbing engineer for almost 30 years. As he flipped through the pages, he kept saying "oh, I remember this tool!" or "look at this, I haven't seen one of these in ages!" The book was well received and a definite must for all those engineering and drafting types because it gives them a chance to see how the technology has progressed. As someone else mentioned in their review, the book looks nice, but the white on silver and silver on white isn't exactly practical. Can be very hard to read, especially with a glare on the page.

A Draftperson's Romance Book

From March 5 through October 10, 2005, the National Building Museum presented an exhibition entitled "Tools of the Imagination". The exhibition contained countless drafting tools and consequentially created documents whose days have since past. In essence, this exhibition and accompanying book document the romance between a creator (i.e. architect) and their tools to generate their subsequent creations. "Tools of Imagination" reads as a romance novel for any architect, designer or drafter who once either used or knew of these antiquated tools. Beautiful pictures of pocket cased sets (composed of rulers, compasses, and ink sets) contrast sharply against VIZ-generated renderings and Gehry's CATIA-sculpted buildings between the covers. The contrast lends itself to document the development and refinement of the tool while also documenting the evolution of the architect's method of designing. While the preface and the introduction to "Tools of Imagination" succeed in relegating the subject of the book about the intrigue and history of the 'tool', a further consideration may have been given to the question of representation within architecture as put forth by John Beckmann's "Virtual Dimension: Architecture, Representation, and Crash Culture" (collection) and Robin Evan's "Translations from Drawing to Building and Other Essays". By not tapping into this discussion of the relevance of the tool to the mode of representation, "Tools of the Imagination" situates itself as a well-done exhibition publication without furthering to the discussion of how modes of representation may be observed.Tools of the Imagination: Drawing Tools and Technologies from the Eighteenth Century to the Present

Good Material - Poor Printing

Very good overview of the subject and very well illustrated. But the printed text, silver on a white page and the reverse, is very nearly illegible. You may go blind trying to read it. That said, if you collect drawing instruments, you got to have it.