Not surprisingly, the finished structures of architectural practice get all the attention. But often the sketches and random ideas committed to paper are where true innovation occur.

“Drawing Ambience: Alvin Boyarsky and the Architectural Association" opens September 12, 2014 at the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis, and was co-organized with the Rhode Island School of Design. The exhibition showcases educator Alvin Boyarsky's private collection of exploratory and often playful sketches by some of the world’s most influential architects.

During his influential time teaching at the Architectural Association in London, from 1971 until his passing in 1990, Boyarsky pushed a more international and experimental curriculum, promoting drawing as a means of expression and exploration. The success of alumni from his tenure, including Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid, speak volumes about the influence of his methodology and spirit.

“We’re in pursuit of architecture,” he once said. “We discuss it boldly, we draw it as well as we can and we exhibit it. We are one of the few institutions in the world that keeps its spirit alive."

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