Chris Wilkinson is not the sort of architect who one would necessarily expect to use drawing as intensively as he does as he belongs to a generation who view architecture as about technology and problem-solving as much as about pure design. But, it’s obvious from the small exhibition he’s just installed in the RA’s Tennant Gallery that he uses drawings at least as much for pleasure, sketching the characteristics of medieval buildings on holiday in Lucca and the view out of the window of his hotel room in New York, as he does for purposes of conception, design and presentation.
These are some details, arbitrarily selected:-
Magna in Rotherham which won the Stirling Prize:-
Worthing Swimming Pool, which I haven’t seen:-
A more finished drawing of the gasholders in King’s Cross:-
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 
Visited Magna a couple of times when our children were younger. Well worth a diversion to Rotherham. It is an amazing building in that you get a real sense of what it previously was (a steelworks) but it functions really well in its new incarnation. What I remember most about the visits was the extremes of heat and cold in different parts of the building and the excitement of my kids given the opportunity to mess about with JCBs and the like!
As someone who lives in Stratford and so passes through a Wilkinson designed structure most days I look forward to seeing the exhibition.
Yes, I agree about Magna – an amazing building. Charles