When I opened the pages of my newest review book, Archidoodle City, my heart did this little smile. I don’t know why. I am SO not an architect, but as I turned the pages and saw the variety contained therein… my heart smiled. Come along with me, perhaps your heart will smile too. 🙂
Steve Bowkett is a teacher of architecture and has done so for more than 25 years. He is currently the senior lecturer at London South Bank University. He wrote a previous book call Archidoodle. He has a wife and children, and along with a dog, and a couple of cats, called Buckinghamshire home. You can see his passion for design within the pages of this lovely tome. Seriously… I just really like this book. 🙂
Being the teacher that he is, he opens this book with some lessons talking about the tools of the trade, and the importance of vanishing points. He shows how to create different effects so the student can add definition to their work.
As you work your way through the pages of this book, which says it is geared to architects of all ages, but really.. anyone who likes to draw will enjoy this book, you will find projects of differing levels of complexity. I loved how he combined real life with opportunities to try your own hand at it. For instance the Water Towers of Manhattan. Students did wrap around art on them to “promote the global water crisis”. In this book the student is encouraged to come up with their own theme to promote and a number of blank water towers to fill. 
Real-life architecture from around the globe as used as points of inspiration. Mr. Bowkett gives the student a groundwork to start from, sparking the imagination to fill in, create and make something all their own. I appreciate how he sparks the imagination by giving it some well defined starting points and parameters to work with in. Having just a blank sheet can sometimes be intimidating. Having a starting point, or a space to work with, provides a safety net and allows the imagination to soar.
Archidoodle City: an Architect’s Activity Book
Steve Bowkett
Laurence King
160 pages, ages 8+
Architecture, Art, Drawing
Activity Book
Reviewed for Raincoast books.
Where to find: Amazon link.
My Thoughts:
I think this is a fantastic book that will amuse students from age 8 and up. Some of the pieces (divided over a two page spread) are more challenging than others, but a challenge is good for any age. I loved that not every page was presented the same way. Some of the projects were rather grand, others were smaller (three or six on a two page spread). We traveled all over the world: Italy, USA, Tokyo and beyond. We discover toilets, bus stations and ventilation tubes. There is architecture in places that I wouldn’t have even considered. Get this book. Be amazed. Have fun drawing, learning and discovering. 🙂
Thank you so much for a really lovely review ,
All the best
Steve B
oh thank you, it was my pleasure.