Listed Building Consent application drawing.

In England, working on Listed Buildings often needs Listed Building Consent. This is a good thing and means that our heritage buildings are protected from ill-advised building practices by law. Conservation officers are there to advise on best courses of action and help to protect our historic fabric.

Part of the Consent application is providing scale drawings. I was lucky to have been at school at a time when technical drawing was still taught. Technical drawing as a separate subject in English schools was merged into the larger Design and Technology national curriculum in 1989, which was a great shame I think. I have used CAD software, but still get great pleasure from producing measured drawings by hand.

I was good with more academic subjects also (I was being pushed in the direction of becoming an architect), but my favourites were Art and technical drawing. When I finally went to college it wasn't Architecture but 3D design(Exhibition Design) with stage and Museum design, that I studied. Lots of opportunities for visualization, modelmaking and more drawing. We had fantastic workshops at college, and I was able to explore my love for woodworking, metalworking and sculpture. I delved quite deep into lots of woodworking traditions, and more often than not I could be found in the workshops, not the design studio.

Later on I got into framing and carpentry and building; I am glad I took the more practical route; understanding buildings from actually building them, working on them and caring for them. It gives you knowledge, which you just can't get from Architecture college, and hours spent in front of some CAD program. Yet again, doing things by hand, you notice things which machines and computers get in the way of. Stuff Artificial Intelligence, give me real Knowledge any day.

And a hand drawn drawing....