Koorbank, ornamenten en een ontwerp voor een glas-in-loodvenster 1837 - 1921

Editor: This drawing from somewhere between 1837 and 1921, titled "Koorbank, ornamenten en een ontwerp voor een glas-in-loodvenster," by Pierre Cuypers, presents several architectural sketches in pencil on paper. There’s a rough quality to the sketch of the bench that is especially captivating to me. What stands out to you? Curator: The preliminary nature of the drawing foregrounds the artistic labour inherent in design. The lines themselves show a process of ideation, of sketching out and refining ideas, prior to any kind of manufacturing process. It emphasizes that “architecture” isn’t just buildings – it’s also the intellectual work, the crafting, of envisioning those structures. Editor: So it’s like a record of the creative thought process involved? Curator: Exactly. Think about the physical process, the repetitive action of marking paper with pencil to produce a concrete form from pure imagination. And not only is it one process of production that precedes others – glass-making and woodworking – but that labour would have involved an entire network of makers: the person extracting graphite, milling it, encasing it in wood, the paper-makers, not to mention those who eventually produce these architectural features at a larger scale. The sketch highlights the collaborative aspect embedded in Cuypers’s architectural design. Editor: It’s easy to forget about the stages of artistic planning that came before the final construction. Looking closely makes it clearer how much labor is involved! Curator: Right, the act of sketching as a vital process challenges the traditional separation of art and craft. Editor: This has given me a lot to consider in my own design projects. I am paying more attention to all that goes into the materiality of any finished design!