By Drawing Matter

When we think of the Lisson Gallery, in Marylebone, West London, we think of the building by British architect Tony Fretton that presents its interior to the street and builds contemporary form from the different dialects of the city around it. But that building from 1992 is in fact a continuation of the first building for the Lisson Gallery, dating from 1986 and also by Fretton who then established ideas that were fundamental to both projects and to his practice as a whole.

Between 1982–86, Fretton produced 43 sketchbooks for the Lisson Gallery I. In addition to the sheer volume of production for one project, what is remarkable about the sketchbooks is that they never reveal the whole project – the architect shows only details, leaving the larger aspects of design to other media. In 2018, Fretton talked through seven of the Lisson Gallery I sketchbooks. The publication, which includes a series of Fretton’s iterative sketches along with a written transcript, captures both the conversation and the project as it evolved.