Michael Vergason (FASLA) holds a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and a Masters of Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia. He is currently the principle of Michael Vergason Landscape Architects Ltd in Alexandria, Virginia. In 2006 he held the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Visiting Professorship and delivered a series of lectures on drawing at the University of Virginia School of Architecture.
Michael Vergason began to realize the value of drawing during his time as a student at the University of Virginia. As a participant in the first Vicenza program, he explored drawing as a method of engaging sites across the Veneto. As a Fellow of the American Academy, Vergason honed his ability to use drawing as an investigative tool. International travels and local observations continue to influence his current practice and working method.

Drawing is an integral part of Vergason’s design process. Rigorous training and sustained practice allow him to understand sites and develop ideas in a way that photographs or verbal exploration could never accomplish. The act of drawing becomes synonymous with thinking, generating ideas that are not pre-meditated, and at times, entirely unexpected. These drawings are not about presentation or even explanation. They are a process.

Drawing also plays an important role in the collaborations that comprise much of Vergason’s practice. As a landscape architect he works to develop relationships across disciplinary boundaries. In collaborations with architects, clients and consultants, drawings engage all participants into the process.

Drawing and Place
Vergason emphasizes how drawing strengthens one’s experience and understanding of place. Sketching demands an intense and sustained visual engagement with a site. Drawing parts demands an understanding of proportions and relationships. This trains the eye to more critically judge what is seen. Time spent drawing also heightens other senses. Smells and sounds embed themselves in the mark making, fostering a deeper mental and physical connection to a place. Vergason stresses the value of always carrying a sketchbook and learning to use it as a tool for deepening his connection to the world around him.

Drawing and Designing
Vergason maintains that the skills developed while drawing from life strengthen the ability to draw from imagination. Marks on paper provide a vehicle for working through ideas. This is why drawing, particularly freehand sketching, plays a significant role in Vergason’s designs from early site investigation through construction documents. These drawings range from marker sketches to digital stylus rendering over photographs. Specificity or clarity is manipulated through the selection of media.

Drawing and Collaboration
Drawing plays an important role in communicating intentions and generating new ideas through collaboration. Early sketches with a marker or soft pencil intentionally lack precision. They allow for a range of interpretations, opening the initial design to new and unexpected readings by others. It is this “opening up” that describes Vergason’s goals for a more fluid collaboration with architects and clients. The above sketches for the Gannett/USA Today Headquarters presented a convincing argument for reconfiguring the initial site strategy to work better with site structure and ecological systems.

Images & References available in .pdf format