Baltimore-based architects Carlos Almeida (AECOM), Jerome Gray (Jerome C. Gray Architect), Eric J. Jenkins (University of Maryland), Omar Calderon Santiago (Perkins Eastman) and Gabriel Kroiz (Morgan State University) have organized a small group of sketchers called Baltimore SketchWorks. They invite everyone to help celebrate sketching and the architecture of Baltimore through sketching tours, lectures, and exhibitions. Their first initiative is once-a-month sketching workshops in and around Baltimore. While AIA Baltimore will release a complete schedule soon, the workshops will include “Light, Shade, and Depth” with Carlos Almeida and “Deciphering Building Design and History through Urban Sketching” with Jerome Gray.

These architects, with varied backgrounds, practices and career paths, believe in those the inherently human and universal qualities of sketching that link mind and body. While architects in the 21st century must embrace and use the most advanced digital technologies and tools, architects also know that there is a need for “both/and” thinking and working and that practice requires varied tools for varied situations.  A sketch’s inaccuracies, mistakes, and “beautiful ugliness” not only allow for, but advances, the design search and connects us to one another. As architect Toshiko Mori notes, “I think the essential aspect of drawing [is that it creates] an immediate relationship between human beings; drawing survived everything. When I go to the world, 90% of places don’t have computers. So, to be able to interact with people, you have to draw. And then people can draw back. It’s still a universal language.”

Workshop 2 – Light, Shade, and Depth
Date: Saturday, February 11, 2023
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Location: The Center for Architecture and Design, One Charles Center
100 N. Charles Street P101, Baltimore, MD 21201 (entrance on W. Fayette Street)
Bring: pen/ink, pencil, watercolors (beginner sets are fine, but brands such as Daniel Smith are Winsor & Newton very good)

This session, led by Carlos Almeida, is for both beginners and those with more experience and will focus on three-dimensional, spatial sketching. Starting with a brief discussion about pens, ink, and paper, Carlos will discuss different sketching techniques to see, capture and perhaps understand space. Carlos’ work can be found on Instagram @sketchviews and Facebook Sketchviews Carlos Almeida.

For more information, please contact Carlos Almeida Sketchviews@gmail.com