Drawing Ambience: Alvin Boyarski and the Architectural Association

This new exhibit currently open at the Rhode Island School of Design showcases the collections of drawings assembled by Alvin Boyarski during his groundbreaking tenure as chairman of the Architectural Association in London from 1971 to his death in 1990. During this time, Boyarsky implemented an ambitious exhibition and publication program that placed drawing in an important position as more than a representation tool, and framed it as a form of architecture in its own right.

Office for Metropolitan Architecture, Boompjes, 1982. © Office for Metropolitan Architecture. From the Collection of the Alvin Boyarsky Archive.

Drawing Ambience features drawings by some of the most important contemporary architects and artists, including Frank Gehry, Zaha Hadid, Rem Koolhaas, Daniel Libeskind, Mary Miss, Eduardo Paolozzi, Bernard Tschumi, and Shin Takamatsu.

Accompanying the drawings are a series of folios published by the Architectural Association that represent the work of Peter Cook, Peter Eisenman, Coop Himmelblau, and Kisa Kawakami, among others.

These works provide an unprecedented glimpse into the techniques and creative spiriting of drawing practices that were common during this time of change and innovation in worldwide architecture.

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