The fusion of architecture and philosophy:
​drawings and concepts

ABSTRACTION

The tendency toward abstraction likewise is fundamental to an architect.  Architecture, after all, is inherently a very abstract discipline, and only becomes concrete once built. Architectural thoughts are expressed in points, lines, and planes and, until they get translated into buildings offering spatial experiences, remain in the realm of the conceptual.

​Compound this highly abstract form of thinking on paper with the intellectual pursuit of philosophical concepts and you wind up with an art that is forever questioning, speculating, and cogitating to find some essence or truth. These works explore rational, conceptual, spatial arrangements aiming toward compositional balance. 
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​Römer's work does occasionally feature figurative elements. However their juxtaposition with other elements always renders them theoretical, surreal, non-narrative, or distinctly out of place. The result is often a spatial composition filled with conceptual ideas.



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DRAWING

​As an architect, quick freehand sketches as well as detailed pencil drawings are second nature to Römer.  Drawing is the visual exploration of spatial relationships and structural compositions. It is as essential to the architectural design process, as it is to the final design creation.

With the onset of computer aided design, the disappearance of both the process of thinking on paper, and the craft of drawing and its graphic beauty, was perceived by Römer as a great loss.  It is what started her ongoing pursuit of mostly abstract, often graphite pencil, compositions, with clear architectural overtones. 
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​However, even before the proliferation of computers, when Römer was still producing architectural drawings by hand, she was also always engaged in some form of drawing or painting, which often did feature representational or figurative qualities. In fact, she has been drawing her entire life. Her love of drawing was in great part what brought her to architecture to begin with. 
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