Dallas Center for Architecture

A Window Into the Architect's Mind: The 35th Annual Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition

For centuries, architects have used visual imagery to assist in the design process—from Egyptian temples sketched on papyrus and Michelangelo’s perspective drawings to “back of the napkin” sketches and 3-D modeling.  These visual representations may be as conceptual as a first sketch or as detailed as construction documents and design drawings.  These drawings from their mind’s eye assist in the translation of idea to reality.  They help us to understand the architect’s vision, and, through the alteration of these drawings, architectural ideas find form. 

Since it began almost 35 years ago, the annual Ken Roberts Memorial Delineation Competition has grown from an event that recognized hand-drawn renderings of local architects to a competition that encompasses architectural delineations made in a variety of media by students and professionals the world over.  Organized by the Dallas chapter of the American Institute of Architects, the “KRob” is the longest-running architectural drawing competition anywhere. The competition is named in tribute to Ken Roberts, the Dallas architect who organized it. Roberts died in 1974 at age 34.

This exhibition features both winners and finalists from the 2009 competition on the DCFA gallery wall and the plasma screen television.