Architettura. Arte del disegno?

The tradition embracing architecture among the arts of drawing seems to be in decline. The paper deals with the relationship between architecture and drawing. Drawing is not simply representing, it is rather a cognitive procedure capable of structuring reality; it is not to be made after speculation, but as long as this is carried on, and therefore before, as incipient thought; it expresses a culture; it holds tight links to reality, which concern the construction of the building as well as the construction of architectural space. Drawing is prefiguring a transformation, but it prefigures also the technical process that makes the transformation possible. The squandering of traditional building rules is undermining the former link between drawing and reality. Drawing holds an analogical link with architectural space; it measures and structures space. Even this capability is losing strength, but here we wonder whether contemporary space can be actually represented through drawing, and measured through Euclidian geometry. What is nowadays the most suitable way to construct and represent architectural space? Is an upgrade of drawing possible? Or is drawing a form of thought that must be abandoned and replaced? There are finally two more issues concerning the purposes of drawing and its transmissibility. What and for whom do we want to draw? We seldom draw for ourselves, for our researches and projects. Should we transpose the Vitruvian categories onto drawing, we would notice that the lack of firmitas (link to building process) and utilitas (effectiveness of drawing) is counterpointed by the resistance of venustas, as drawing is an esthetical practice aiming to spiritual pleasure. Still about innovation in drawing techniques: in a few clicks it is nowadays possible making complex drawings which are not supported by any structured thought, whereas a large amount of thought is integral to the simplest orthogonal projection; the amount of innovation is getting heavier than past knowledge and this is undermining the way architectural drawing techniques are taught.