Begin Again. Fail Better: Preliminary Drawings in Architecture engages with one of the
principal activities of the architect in the process of design: drawing by hand. It explores
the act of designing through a focus on beginnings. Architects try fail try again fail
better until they start to move in the direction that ultimately becomes a building-or not.
This book brings together 199 preliminary architecture drawings. More than 50 contemporary
Swiss architecture firms each contributed two pieces that reveal something of their individual
approach and understanding of architecture. This selection is enhanced by historical works by
Swiss and European architects that come from four significant British and Swiss archival
collections dating from the 20th and back to the 16th century. The illustrations are
complemented by essays providing a critical and historical framework as well as a conversation
engaging with the conditions and importance of failure within the design process. Brief
interludes by international architects archivists and teachers introducing a range of
perspectives round out this beautiful volume.
