Mayday Mayday!

I have fallen behind in my blog entries – the trips to Yangon and Europe are only partly to blame, as I have been busy at work finishing off our ‘ job-bank’ projects. These are projects which are in their initial stages and require resolution for planning approval. Since planning approvals can take up to two years, these projects are similar to money in the bank; fixed deposits to be put away for a future rainy day. They will not be built for another two years at least.

 Amongst all the large scale projects, I consciously find time for smaller projects to keep myself in touch with the process of exploration and drawing. I usually do these projects with the younger members and students in the office - as a training process for them. 
I enjoy the smaller projects as they usually foster more informal communication with the client, as can be seen in the notes and sketches above. They serves as our 'minutes' of meeting; the sketches do replace a thousand words (quite easily). Not all my drawings are hand drawn; I like the sketchiness of this software making it more akin to the hand drawn line than a photo-realistic image.

In May, I will try to sequence my blog entries according to the Europe trip as I have made many notes of events and stories in the making – and sketches to accompany them. I mentioned in my earlier post that this is a study trip organised by our local Architects’ Institute; so the priority is to visit buildings and places of culture and interest, with side trips to sample local delicacies with an open mind and wallet. As the trip progresses it becomes clear that unfortunately, not all our travel companions share this attitude.