What is the role of hand drawing in architecture today?

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Competitions such as "Eye Line" contest of the RIBA Journal Celebrate importance of the drawing. Image © Tom Noonan

Update: We have now released our follow-section of responses from readers - see here .

Historically, the ability to attract the hand - both to create precise technical drawings and expressive sketches - was at the center of the architectural profession. But with the release and subsequent popularization of computer-aided design (CAD) programs since the early 1980s, the prestige of hand drawing was under siege. Today, with the design of increasingly sophisticated and presentation software, Revit to Rhino, is gaining popularity, the importance of hand drawing has become a topic of heated discussion. Similarly, when we published the short article "Hand vs. Drawing Computer: Opinion of a student" last week, the number of people who offer their thoughts in the comments was well beyond what we expected

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for this reason, we wanted to offer our readers the chance to express their thoughts more widely on the subject. Are hand drawings an anachronism in the architecture of the 21st century? Or they offer a way for architects to explore ideas that computer applications can not? Is there a distinction between the usefulness of drawing and sketches? Is there a difference between drawing in education and working in practice? What are the ramifications of architects who can not shoot, or architects who can not use computer applications?

We want you to leave your thoughts about these questions and more in the comments below. The most interesting and insightful comments will be presented in a future article.