The exhibition "Architectural Drawings" explores the close relationship between drawing and thought in architectural creation. Inspired by the collection assembled over more than twenty-five years by Primitivo González, the exhibition presents an interesting collection of notes, sketches, and drawings by numerous architects, from modern masters to contemporary figures. However, more than presenting finished works or celebrated authors, the collection focuses on the moment when ideas begin to take shape, understanding drawing not as a tool but as a space for shared thought.
As Leopoldo Uría points out, collecting is a cultural and creative act that gives meaning to the whole through the relationships between the pieces. Each drawing has a dual value: the beginning of the design process and an autonomous work of art. The exhibition layout, with elongated tables and focused lighting, evokes the working environment of the studio and transforms the room into a space where the mental origin of architecture is revealed.
Le Corbusier detail. Architectural drawings. Primitivo González Collection. Photograph by Ricardo González.
Project description by Primitivo González
Drawing is synonymous with thinking. Numerous authors, artists and architects have pointed this out throughout history. Jørn Utzon evoked this idea when he drew a man whose inkwell was his own brain. Similarly, Juhani Pallasmaa recalled it in his essay The Thinking Hand. Every stroke of an architectural drawing thereby confirms that the discipline begins with the simplicity of a hand that draws.
The exhibition Drawings of Architectures stems from Primitivo Gonzá-lez’s passion for architecture. For over 25 years, he has been assembling an impressive collection of drawings, notes, sketches, and drafts. His interest in collecting is not driven by a search for specific pieces, but rather by a desire to trace the moment when different architects first give shape to their ideas. Neither the signature nor graphic perfection is as important as the dialogue between multiple thoughts.
As Leopoldo Uría recalls in the catalogue text, collecting is also a cultural and creative act, where the whole is constructed through interrelationships rather than isolated pieces. In this regard, these graphic pieces enjoy a dual status: they are the beginning of a design process, and at the same time, they are works of art with their own value. Each sketch is part of a broader map: a cartography of modern and contemporary architecture, traced from fragments that reveal the diversity of ways of designing.
The layout of the room reinforces this interpretation. The long tables display the drawings as if they were a large shared board, where modern masters and more contemporary architects engage in dialogue on the same surface. The light is concentrated on this work surface, evoking the intimate atmosphere of the studio, where time seems to stand still.
This exhibition does not merely display drawings: it invites visitors to come into the space in the mind where architecture begins.
