The Art of the Architect celebrates the role that drawing and watercolor painting play in architecture. Architectural drawing as we know it dates from the Renaissance, but with the arrival of computer design programs this ancient art—formed of pen, pencil, and brushstrokes on paper—is sometimes regarded as obsolete. Architect Michael Imber will demonstrate what a vital contribution they can still make at every stage of an architectural project.

Whatever the place occupied by photographs, simulations, and visual graphics in the design process of today, hand drawing still facilitates a moment of deeper connection between an architect and his environment. Unlike a snap taken on a smart phone, a hand drawing is an active response to its subject: what is understood about a place in sensory terms informs the finished design, creating buildings which maintain the balance between the way we live and the natural world around us.

Michael’s sketches allow him to visualize his environment more clearly, and they provide an immediate visual language with which he can communicate with his team, craftsmen, and clients resulting in authentic and timeless architecture connecting to the landscape.

Following the presentation, join us for a post-event reception and book signing at the Somerset Club, generously hosted by Michael Carter.

Michael Imber
A devoted artist and contemporary master of classical architecture, Michael is widely recognized for a body of work that is strong in historic sentiment, yet modern in execution. As the principal architect and founder of Michael G. Imber Architects, he creates buildings that are designed to be cherished and passed down for generations. Michael is widely recognized for an architecture of material and craft that is in harmony with its landscape and local culture. The firm’s portfolio includes residential, commercial, institutional, hospitality, and resort projects located throughout the United States and internationally.

Michael’s work has been recognized with numerous national design awards including the Institute for Classical Architecture & Art’s prestigious Arthur Ross Award in 2007 as well as eight Palladio Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Traditional Design. In the Spring of 2022, Michael served as the Robert A. M. Stern Visiting Professor of Classical Architecture at Yale University, and lectured at Cambridge University in the fall of 2023.

His work is frequently published in architectural magazines, and he has published two books, including his most recent, The Art of the Architect, by London-based publisher Triglyph Books in 2023, exploring the profession of architecture and its long relationship with art.