Connections Between the Architectural Drawings of Miralles and Mackintosh. From Ichnographia to Scaenographia

Abstract

Architectural drawing is constantly evolving, but it has invariants. This article aims to investigate the two representation systems most used in the design process of Enric Miralles. An architect who began using a perceptual vision as the origin of his designs, which he analyzed in detail in his doctoral thesis. Though, it was progressively losing relevance in favor of the plant. However, this writing is not only a review of the graphic method deployed in Miralles’ sketches, proposed throughout the different stages of his career, but also its new contribution lies in tracing a possible relationship with the work process displayed in the drawings by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. For this reason, this essay proposes a deductive analysis where their sketches are blended in order to establish for the first time the existing connections between the drawings of both architects. After reviewing the studies that analyzed the method of drawing developed by Miralles, these approaches are confronted with his writings and conversations. The comparison with Mackintosh’s work is based on published essays on his graphic process. The field of study is limited to the preliminary sketches, since they can assist to unveil the essence of the method that served them to represent and to communicate their projects.