Sabine Heine Rotterdam
architectural illustrations | illustrated architecture
sh@sabineheine.com
Chamber of Commerce | Kamer van Koophandel: NL 24444910 VAT ID: NL 002443086B65
About architectural illustration
The beauty of hand drawing is that its accuracy can be used and adjusted accordingly. If you want to point something out or highlight it, line and detail are refined, more precise. On the other hand, inaccuracy also has its appeal for things which are often still unknown or should not yet be mentioned. One can quickly insert a fleeting line into a sketch in order to patch up a lack of information. My clients welcome this effect because it shows everything but confirms nothing. The viewer can observe a spatial and architectural situation and can perceive a certain mood. Incidentally, hand drawings also subliminally suggest that changes and participative opportunities are still possible. These specific strategic components, as well as the psychological and even legal aspects of an illustration are of great interest to me. Of course, creating an atmosphere or even adding a little scenic charm to the picture makes my work even more delightful. The current dominance of photorealistic architectural rendering enables me to find new ways of pursuing hand-drawn, architectural pictures. I do not require technical perfection or realistic diligence in my work, but instead I focus on conceptual statements, atmosphere and even poetry. For me, hand drawing has its very own place in our professional practice, not as a competitor to photorealistic rendering, but rather as a complement to it. My illustrations are often requested for larger urban projects in which the designs of different planners are combined and therefore the overall picture is presented with a homogeneous style. In my drawings, buildings often have façades or other details that still need to be created, designed and, of course, adjusted. Some details just naturally fade out behind trees. Often an illustration is required shortly before a deadline and no one in the design team has any time to make decisions about specific details. At best, there are the contender's reference pictures but other than that, my own experience as an architect and study of architectural literature is put into practice. This is what makes architectural illustration so exciting. Over and over again, a white surface waits to be filled...
