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Research Article Volume 8 Issue 3
Empowering shaping thought by using the body synergies—Why architects should keep drawing by hand
Luis Filipe Salgado Pereira Rodrigues
Received: August 18, 2026 | Published: September 1, 2026
Citation: Rodrigues LFSP. Empowering shaping thought by using the body synergies—Why architects should keep drawing by hand. Art Human Open Acc J. 2026;8(2):137-142. DOI: 10.15406/ahoaj.2026.08.00283
Abstract
This study presents a statement about the importance of thinking through the potential expression of the body’s action. In this regard, despite the diminishing attention to empirical drawing in architectural teaching, which has been replaced by the emergence of computers and AI, we underline that the process of shape thinking can be improved when it is developed in response to the body’s sensitivities. Thus, it will be argued that empirical drawing, using the hand and its gestures, activates several synergies that nurture and stimulate thought about and through shapes. The result is an expressive way of thinking, and also a means of creating a wider consciousness, a humanized creation, and a more profound self-consciousness. Thus, if a subject, and in particular one who develops a thought about and through shapes—as the architect—uses empirical drawing, it will increase his sense of thinking, reunifying it with the body’s sensitivity and aesthetic sensitivity: in order to create a better external reality and, in the meantime, a deeper inner reality.
Keywords: thought, body, action, drawing, expression, architectural design
©2026 Rodrigues. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially.