Full Frame Close Up: Drawing the World

Shi Lun, an accomplished Chinese architect, discovered that through traveling and sketching he could embrace a new perspective on the world. In 2017, he spent 230 days doing just that, traveling the world and sketching famous architecture.

“For architects it’s very important for us to know something more about, culture, history, and all those buildings in different places in the world,” Shi Lun said. “It’s like you can just find out the logic of the designs series.”

Shi Lun sacrificed a great deal by taking on this risky adventure. He had a lucrative career at the Architectural Design and Research Institute at Tsinghua University and left his job to create his sketch series around the world. Even though he gave up an opportunity to thrive in one of China’s top architectural design agencies, the experience gave him new insights that have transformed his professional and personal life.

Shi Lun started his travels in Beijing in April 2017 and visited 97 cities around the globe before returning to Beijing November 2017. He now runs his own architecture design studio, a firm he launched after an influx of interest from clients who had learned about his travel project.

“[The trip] inspired me to discover more about history and to make me try to discover more about myself,” Shi Lun said. “That’s the part I think which really surprised me.”