Frank Harmon, FAIA, a multi-award winning architect in Raleigh, NC, and the author/illustrator of the website Native Places, will present a three-hour seminar at the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) National Convention in Atlanta in May entitled “Urban Sketching.”

Raleigh sketch artist Scott Rent will join Harmon to discuss the means and methods for sketching. Marlon Blackwell, FAIA, a nationally prominent architect from Fayetteville, Arkansas, Tom Kundig (Olson Kundig Architects, Seattle, WA), and Ellen Cassilly (Ellen Cassilly Architect, Chapel Hill, NC), will discuss the value of sketching in their work.

"Leonardo Di Vinci said that drawing was a way to understand the world,” Harmon said recently. “Drawing allows you to see things you never noticed before. The point is not to make a pretty drawing. The point is to draw what you see."

In the Convention program, AIA organizers note, “In a world of design software and technology modeling tools, spontaneous freehand sketching remains the most efficient and effective way to jump start the creative process.”

Harmon’s two-part session includes a one-hour seminar and a two-hour excursion for sketching.

The AIA National Convention will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center May 16-18. Harmon’s“Urban Sketching” session will take place on May 16 from 7-11 a.m., beginning at the World Congress Center.

For more information on Frank Harmon, visit www.frankharmon.com. To see examples of his sketches, visit Native Places – “a collection of thoughts and hand drawn sketches that illustrate the value of looking closely at buildings and places.”