m. gerwing architects notebook » drawing

notebook sketch, Chicago bridges

mgerwing — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 00:16:55 +0000

Chicago has more bridges than any other major city in the United States. Not the large, majestic, Golden Gate type, but the short span, working bridges. This bridge is typically in the raised position and sits as a railroad-only bridge for a rarely used spur west of the Merchandise Mart.

Sketch by Mark Gerwing, 1999

Boston, 1992

mgerwing — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 03:14:01 +0000

A quick lunch-time sketch looking down Boylston just down from Phillip Johnson’s entry to the Boston Public Library.

Sketch by Mark Gerwing, 1992.

Venice, 1988

mgerwing — Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:49:51 +0000

For most of 1988, I lived in Venice, Italy, studying and working and a lot of drawing.

If I remember correctly, this is a sketch of a building directly across the Grand Canal from the train station.

Sketch by Mark Gerwing, 1988.

Boston, 1991

mgerwing — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:43:41 +0000

Between undergrad at the College of Architecture at the University of Kentucky and grad school at Yale, I spent a couple of years living and working in Boston. I was attracted to the history of the place, a bit put-off by the unrelenting snobbishness.

For a while I lived on the poor side of Beacon Hill and walked down Charles Street and across the Public Garden to work in the Backbay.

This is a quick sketch of the Public Garden from the pond edge – unfinished on a cold day.

Watercolor sketch by Mark Gerwing, 1991.

Chicago, 1999

mgerwing — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:39:11 +0000

The finest panorama in all of Chicago I think is from along the immediate north shore looking back to the city. The Hancock Tower looms large and the contrast between the man-made vertical edge of the city and the flatness of the lake is severe. This is a quick sketch done on a warm September day. I moved to Chicago after graduate school and really continued my education there among the bold and sophisticated architecture of Sullivan, Wright, etc. and the vast landscape of strong, confident, anonymous industrial buildings.

Sketch by Mark Gerwing, 1999.

New Haven, 1993

mgerwing — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:33:45 +0000

I spent two years at Yale University, in the Master of Architecture program. New Haven at the time was a bit of a mess with a high crime rate and dreadful town-gown tensions. The best escape was to the small towns along the coast of Connecticut and Rhode Island. This is a quick sketch of small harbor in Rhode Island.

Sketch by Mark Gerwing, 1993.