Architect Drawings : A Selection of Sketches by World Famous Architects Through History
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Villanueva, Carlos Raúl (1900–1975)<br />
Museo Soto sketch, c. 1969, Fundación Villanueva Caracas, #3219r, 21 18cm, Graphite on<br />
sketch paper<br />
Known for his urban renewal projects in Venezuela and for organizing pr<strong>of</strong>essional architecture and<br />
planning associations, Carlos Raúl Villanueva promoted a modern architecture balanced <strong>by</strong> respect<br />
for the preservation <strong>of</strong> the colonial architecture <strong>of</strong> Latin America.<br />
The son <strong>of</strong> a Venezuelan diplomat, Villanueva was born in Croydon, England. He studied at the<br />
Ecole des Beaux-Arts and received a diploma in 1928. Relocating to Caracas, he began private practice<br />
the following year. Although beaux-arts trained, Villanueva led the modern movement in<br />
Venezuela, reflecting his contemporaries’ work in Europe. He successfully integrated art into his<br />
architecture and translated modernist concrete forms to the sunlight <strong>of</strong> the tropics, using screens,<br />
reflection, and shading devices. One <strong>of</strong> his most celebrated projects was the elementary school<br />
Escuela Gran Colombia (1939). A building to attain the social ideals <strong>of</strong> modernism, it rejected historical<br />
precedent. Other buildings designed <strong>by</strong> Villanueva include the Olympic Stadium (1950–1952),<br />
El Paraiso Housing Development (1954), and the University City projects, School <strong>of</strong> <strong>Architect</strong>ure<br />
and Urbanism, Pharmacy Building, and the Olympic Swimming Stadium (1957), all in Caracas (Van<br />
Vynckt, 1993; Villanueva and Pintó, 2000).<br />
Paulina Villanueva explains that her father had a distinct method <strong>of</strong> using sketching during his<br />
design process. He sketched with ‘strong yet precise strokes that enabled him to compose complex<br />
ideas with few lines’ (Villanueva and Pintó, 2000, pp. 9–10). She recalls that he would sketch many<br />
small images to reach a design solution and continually revisit those first sketches. To achieve these<br />
bold and efficient sketches he used a blunt pencil. The resulting heavy line provided a concise outline.<br />
Although he destroyed many <strong>of</strong> his drawings and sketches, considering them as only part <strong>of</strong> the<br />
process, a few <strong>of</strong> these graphically robust images remain, primarily from his final projects.<br />
Villanueva’s sketches appear consistent with his architecture. The straightforward expression <strong>of</strong><br />
edges, abstract shape, and precise proportion reflects his use <strong>of</strong> bold modernist forms. This page<br />
(Figure 7.11) presents a preliminary study for the Jesús Soto Museum <strong>of</strong> Modern Art in Bolivar City,<br />
Venezuela. The sketch, dating from the late 1960s, shows a site plan <strong>of</strong> the museum and describes the<br />
juxtaposition <strong>of</strong> the various buildings. At this early stage in conceptual design, he was not concerned<br />
with straight lines or details. This shows in the minimal forms that describe buildings, some with only<br />
four lines. Several <strong>of</strong> the buildings have been roughly darkened and others appear unfinished, such as<br />
the overhangs/porches on the galleries. The sketch is an attempt to quickly comprehend the whole<br />
site. Concerned with contrast that could help him visualize the context, he shaded the ground with<br />
bold texture using a continuous zigzag stroke.<br />
Considering the series <strong>of</strong> sketches that exist for this project, the design evolved as to location <strong>of</strong><br />
the parking, placement <strong>of</strong> the irregular central plaza, and shape <strong>of</strong> several buildings. The three rectangular<br />
gallery spaces that face the curved street remained consistent throughout the process. Here he<br />
held fast to the bold and strong forms, using them to anchor the site. 5<br />
Villanueva utilized an economy <strong>of</strong> lines for these first studies. He was recording forms as they<br />
presented themselves, not eliminating their potential. This is evidenced <strong>by</strong> the fact that he did not<br />
take the time to erase and redraw shapes. Villanueva was comfortable visualizing a spatial organization<br />
from a small sketch, then critiquing its qualities for the evolution <strong>of</strong> the scheme. The abstraction<br />
<strong>of</strong> the small sketches did not hinder the early development <strong>of</strong> the design. Most importantly, he<br />
was able to ‘read’ these partial forms to translate them into architectural form.<br />
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