Sketch Training; From Theory to Practice

The involvement of the publication of architecture with practice of architect has been long and a subject with multistory and multiuse as "sketch" always same as the design has been scrutinized. We know the architecture is vitalized with notion, and creativity is a matter leading to the innovation of a novel, appealing and pleasant architectural work of art.The learner of architecture, usually in an educational-training process, exercises the gap between theory and practice through developing "Drawing" skills; but, indeed, it is the sketching that leads him to creativity, dreaming and improvisationfor spreading of his thought and plans- the more this idea is developed, the better architecture will be generated. Therefore, it goes without saying that the cycle of notion to publication in education and, also, the development of design for the architect is a vertical procedure, which includes the hierarchy of loose, evocative and researching sketching; in the everyday terminology of education, they are defined with the terms croquis, schematic design and sketch respectively.There is a direct link between the proper realization of these three subjects and our level of understanding of imagination and schema; such measure, along with skills, gives the architect the opportunity to make ideas and heed the details of scheme. Hence, we can put emphasis on the link between education and sketching in the design process if we consider education as an issue which, basically, changes our viewpoint towards subjects, and regard sketching as a work with which we could observe subjects from our point of view.Indeed, architects basically employ sketching as an educational affair when they utilize it to remember the parts of scheme, draw them and find ideas to view things in different ways. Students, in turn, use sketch in the stages of finding ideas, analysis of data and cognition of subject, and, in the later stages, they benefit from the application of digital software beside the manual schematic designs; they utilize sketch if there is a need for instant explanation or swift change.Nevertheless, the meaning and role of what is entitled sketch and isunder discussion in Iran's schools of architecture is not clear yet; this ambiguity, in theoretical-practical cycle of sketch, has resulted in a decrease in efficient exploitation of "Quantitative-qualitative Capabilities of Sketch" in education, learning and assessment of sketch in design process. This paper has tried to provide the "sketch-cycle" from theory to practice, to model the guidelines and hierarchy in mixed attention to details and generality of design, and as a case study this approach has been explored in sketch test in the Islamic Azad University from the perspective of applicants. According to the research findings, the lack of proper attention to the guidelines of sketch and fading due process of theory-practice cycle of sketch, decrease of use of "Capabilities of Sketch" in the context of teaching and learning in the educational process of architecture have caused that at least in sketch test of the Islamic Azad University as a symbol of quality evaluation of architecture education is clearly traceable.... Keywords: Imagination, Schema, Cycle Sketch, Sketch Training, Architecture Education