Drawing Phenomena by architect and drawing researcher Aleksandar Pilyov explores architecture through the traces left by time, weathering, neglect, and human absence. Focusing particularly on early twentieth-century buildings in Sofia, the project uses drawing, photography, collage, and field observation to document material transformation and overlooked urban narratives. Pilyov approaches buildings as evolving conditions and repositories of memory, craftsmanship, and identity, opening a broader discussion around heritage, adaptive reuse, preservation, demolition, and the future of existing architecture.
Drawing Phenomena is an ongoing architectural research and visual practice that investigates the relationship between natural material transformation and urban memory in the built environment.
Developed through drawing, photography, and field observation, the project focuses on buildings and urban conditions that exist in states of neglect, decay, and gradual disappearance.
Rather than approaching architecture as a finished object, Drawing Phenomena examines it as a continuous process shaped by time, weathering, occupation, abandonment, and reuse.
The project emerged from a growing interest in the overlooked layers of the city and the cultural value embedded within existing architecture. Many buildings, particularly those situated within historic urban environments, slowly disappear from public consciousness long before they vanish. Through careful observation and documentation, the project seeks to reveal the stories and extract the subject matter for discourse.
Drawing serves as the project’s primary investigative tool.
Beyond representation, it functions as a method of research capable of recording spatial experience, material change, and phenomenological qualities that are difficult to capture through conventional architectural documentation alone.
Photography, collage, and layered drawing techniques are employed to construct visual narratives that oscillate between documentation and interpretation, allowing architecture to be understood as both a physical reality and a cultural condition.
Many of the works focus on early twentieth-century buildings in Sofia, as of now, whose architectural significance contrasts with their current state of deterioration.
These structures are approached not simply as objects of preservation, but as repositories of memory, craftsmanship, and urban identity.
By documenting their transformation, the project opens broader conversations surrounding heritage, adaptive reuse, demolition, and the future of existing buildings.
While rooted in architectural drawing, Drawing Phenomena operates across the fields of research, visual culture, and public discourse.
Its ambition is to expand beyond the architectural profession through exhibitions, publications, collaborations, and educational initiatives that encourage wider audiences to engage with questions of preservation, material life cycles, and the cultural significance of the built environment.
Facts & Credits
Project title Drawing Phenomena
Typology City Issues
Author Aleksandar Pilyov
This project was submitted to Archisearch through the “Submit a Story” feature, where architects, designers, and creatives are invited to share their work for publication.