Drawing analogies proposes an innovative way of drawing by means of which we can go from observing an existing architectural model to a design idea inspired by the same model. Using exclusively free hand drawing, the author presents a series of cases referring to urban contexts, historical and contemporary architecture and natural landscapes. The method involves four operative phases: observation, analysis, abstraction and analogy.

While observation and analysis drawings are part of the academic and artistic curriculum of architects, abstraction and analysis drawings have received less attention. By abstraction, we mean the subjective interpretation in a graphic form of architectural elements belonging to the reference model, by analogy we mean an original design proposal inspired by the model and applied to a new, hypothetical context.

To demonstrate the practical use of the method of the four phases, some of the author’s projects are presented, with an analysis of the analogical sources that inspired them.