Astounding Architectural Drawings

What separates the great architects from the rest? Being able to produce awesome architectural drawings, of course! Okay, maybe as a pencil lover my opinion is a little bias. There’s more to being a great architect than being able to come up with a unique sketch, and surely you don’t need to be an architect at all to produce a well-drawn architectural sketch.

As an armchair appreciator of architectural design, I find myself wowing over the details some artist are able to portray on their sketchpads. Luckily with websites like Instagram and Tumblr, searching through pages of incredible professional and amateur architecture drawings is a breeze. Type in the hashtag #arch_sketch on Instagram and be amazed by the hundreds of talented contributors (and don’t forget to follow @pencilscom on Instagram while you’re at it). I’ve sifted through a good chunk of these sketches, and now I’m here to share some of the coolest I could find on the web.

Maja Wronska

Violentdelight

ninikills

Stephen Wiltshire

One of the most truly astounding architectural artists is London-born Stephen Wiltshire. Diagnosed with autism at the age of three, Wiltshire possesses the rare ability to memorize an image only after looking at it for a few moments. With this unique skill, he is able to sketch any place he’s ever been to just by what he has committed to memory. In 2009 Wiltshire was flown over New York City for no more than 20 minutes. After he landed, he recreated the entire skyline of the city on an 18 ft panorama:

You can watch an hour long documentary on Stephen Wilstshire on Youtube by clicking here.

Take a moment to search some of your favorite architectural sketches online and post them in the comments. Better yet, post some of your own sketches that you’re proud of if you’ve got them!