Before Chester County buildings rise from their idyllic landscape, there is imagination and there is art. Friday night, the Oxford Art Alliance is “pulling back the curtain and showing what is not meant to be seen,” local architect Wayne Simpson said in Lele Galer’s preview of the art show in The Times of Chester County.

“I think it is fantastic!” he said. “People don’t know what architects do. They think we draw buildings, but really we design space around people.”

“Architectural Sketches: Building an Idea,” which debuts from 5 to 8 p.m., sheds light on the creative process that goes on behind the scenes before any renderings and blueprints are made public.

“Architecture is about thinking about how people use space, and sketches are the way architects organize their thoughts, through pencil and paper, a way to ideate and think visually,” Simpson added. “… When people think of architectural drawings, they think of those mechanical drawings that are designed to show a contractor how to build a building, but this exhibit is all of the early thinking.”

The art show features Simpson and fellow architects Ed Rahme and Todd Tully Danner.

In addition to revealing the architect’s vision for a building, the exhibit also provides a glimpse at how they view people and the world around them.

“I like my buildings the way I like my people: honest,” Rahme said in the article.

Read more about the upcoming exhibit in The Times of Chester County here.