Brno is one of the best places in Europe to look at modernist houses. Between the wars the city was a laboratory for new architecture, and its most famous building, the Villa Tugendhat designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and completed in 1930, is only one of many. Streets of flat-roofed villas, terraces and apartment blocks from the same period still line its hills.
This one-day workshop teaches a simple way of drawing such buildings: not as technical elevations, but as compositions of horizontal planes, deep shadows and the occasional tree. No previous drawing experience is required. The aim is to look more carefully, and to come away with a small sketchbook of houses.
The day
The morning is spent in the studio. We begin with quick exercises in line and shadow, then work from photographs of modernist houses, learning to reduce each one to a few planes and openings. After lunch the group walks to a nearby interwar neighbourhood to draw from life, moving between three or four houses over the afternoon.
- All drawing materials and a sketchbook are provided
- The afternoon walk covers about three kilometres on pavements
- Lunch is not included; there are several cafés near the studio
Before you come
February in Brno can be cold, and much of the afternoon is spent standing outside. Warm layers, gloves you can draw in and a folding stool are all recommended. In very bad weather the afternoon session moves indoors to a nearby café with large windows.
The workshop is limited to sixteen participants so that the tutor can work with everyone individually. The studio is on the first floor, reached by stairs. Please let us know in advance if you have any access needs and we will do our best to accommodate them.
