Alexander Esty, Unidentified house, c. 1855, Courtesy of Historic New EnglandFor those of us who grew up here, the older homes of New England typically have the first and greatest architectural influence on us. Those who move to New England later in life often quickly come to appreciate the unique language the houses of New England speak. It’s a language worthy of study and appreciation which is exemplified in Drawing Toward Home, Designs for Domestic Architecture from Historic New England now on show at the Boston University Art Gallery.
Since I mostly draft by hand, as all architects did prior to the advent of computer-aided drafting, it was with great delight that I perused the architectural drawings from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries on display at B.U. Most are presentation drawings while some are study drawings meant primarily for the architects’ review.
Well known and little-known architects are represented in the 100 exhibited drawings culled from Historic New England’s collection which contains the work of more than 400 architects. I found myself drawn to three striking drawings which collectively reflect three areas of interest to architects: constructed elements relative to landscape; the house: its plan, exterior elevations, sections and representation in perspective; and its interior.
