Sketchbook speculation

Will Alsop, the British architect (1947-2018), was a keen sketcher from the very start of his career, saying "You can speculate in your sketchbook – you're allowed to think about anything, with or without a client.". An ideas-driven architect, Alsop was also known to use painting, before he began to work on a new project, to clear his mind, think freely and create an uncontaminated design approach (his office walls typically included large paintings of colourful abstract compositions). Or, as he put it, "One of the reasons for painting is that you are not really in control of what you are doing - and that interests me a lot. Instead of having a specific starting point, which perhaps, in architectural terms, would lead through to a series of logical thoughts working towards a designed building, you can start anywhere."