January Workshop in Classical Architecture: University of North Carolina, Charlotte | Institute of Classical Architecture and Art, North Carolina Chapter

7 credits towards the Certificate in Classical Architecture (Tuscan Order & Measured Drawing) | 7 AIA CES Learning Units|Elective

Friday, January 23, 2026

University of North Carolina, Charlotte

The ICAA Workshop in Classical Architecture introduces classical architecture as a living language to encourage literacy with the enduring forms which shape our built environment. The grammar, syntax, and proportional relationships of the classical canon are explored through freehand drawings of the classical orders and exercises that adapt the language to an architectural composition. The workshop kicks off with a series of short architectural case studies that highlight the use of the classical tradition in the design of new buildings and places today. The program provides instruction for students who are just beginning to explore the language, as well as for more advanced level students and those who have attended previous ICAA Workshops.

What You Will Learn:

The Classical Language

How to draw a block layout of the Tuscan Order to become familiar with the proportional relationships of the individual parts to the whole
How to complete detailed drawings of the base, capital, and entablature to become acquainted with the nomenclature and role of the individual parts
How to produce a drawing of an elevation of a Tuscan portico to explore syntax and compositional strategies
How a canonical order may be explicit or implicit in a design, and how its elements can be progressively reduced while retaining its character and proportion

The Study of Precedents in Architectural Composition

The tradition and purpose of measured and analytical drawing in sketchbook.
Techniques for measuring a precedent and accurately drawing to scale in a sketchbook
Familiarity with local classical buildings and adaptions of the classical canon
An appreciation for drawing as a means of instilling a sensibility for size, scale, proportion, and composition

Students & Faculty – FREE

Professionals – $50

Click here to learn more & register