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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architectural drawing | 4/7 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architectural_drawing | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:59:18.327822+00:00 | kb-cron |
A sketch is a rapidly executed freehand drawing, a quick way to record and develop an idea, not intended as a finished work. A diagram could also be drawn freehand but deals with symbols, to develop the logic of a design. Both can be worked up into a more presentable form and used to communicate the principles of a design. In architecture, the finished work is expensive and time-consuming, so it is important to resolve the design as fully as possible before construction work begins. Complex modern buildings involve a large team of different specialist disciplines, and communication at the early design stages is essential to keep the design moving towards a coordinated outcome. Architects (and other designers) start investigating a new design with sketches and diagrams, to develop a rough design that provides an adequate response to the particular design problems. There are two basic elements to a building design, the aesthetic and the practical. The aesthetic element includes the layout and visual appearance, the anticipated feel of the materials, and cultural references that will influence the way people perceive the building. Practical concerns include space allocated for different activities, how people enter and move around the building, daylight and artificial lighting, acoustics, traffic noise, legal matters and building codes, and many other issues. While both aspects are partly a matter of customary practice, every site is different. Many architects actively seek innovation, thereby increasing the number of problems to be resolved. Architectural legend often refers to designs made on the back of an envelope or on a napkin. Initial thoughts are important, even if they have to be discarded along the way, because they provide the central idea around which the design can develop. Although a sketch is inaccurate, it is disposable and allows for freedom of thought, for trying different ideas quickly. Choice becomes sharply reduced once the design is committed to a scale drawing, and the sketch stage is almost always essential. Diagrams are mainly used to resolve practical matters. In the early phases of the design architects use diagrams to develop, explore, and communicate ideas and solutions. They are essential tools for thinking, problem solving, and communication in the design disciplines. Diagrams can be used to resolve spatial relationships, but they can also represent forces and flows, e.g. the forces of sun and wind, or the flows of people and materials through a building. An exploded view diagram shows component parts dis-assembled in some way, so that each can be seen on its own. These views are common in technical manuals, but are also used in architecture, either in conceptual diagrams or to illustrate technical details. In a cutaway view parts of the exterior are omitted to show the interior, or details of internal construction. Although common in technical illustration, including many building products and systems, the cutaway is in fact little-used in architectural drawing.
== Types == Architectural drawings are produced for a specific purpose, and can be classified accordingly. Several elements are often included on the same sheet, for example a sheet showing a plan together with the principal façade.
=== Presentation drawings === Drawings intended to explain a scheme and to promote its merits. Working drawings may include tones or hatches to emphasize different materials, but they are diagrams, not intended to appear realistic. Basic presentation drawings typically include people, vehicles and trees, taken from a library of such images, and are otherwise very similar in style to working drawings. Rendering is the art of adding surface textures and shadows to show the visual qualities of a building more realistically. An architectural illustrator or graphic designer may be employed to prepare specialist presentation images, usually perspectives or highly finished site plans, floor plans and elevations etc.
=== Survey drawings === Measured drawings of existing land, structures and buildings. Architects need an accurate set of survey drawings as a basis for their working drawings, to establish exact dimensions for the construction work. Surveys are usually measured and drawn up by specialist land surveyors.
=== Record drawings === Historically, architects have made record drawings in order to understand and emulate the great architecture known to them. In the Renaissance, architects from all over Europe studied and recorded the remains of the Roman and Greek civilizations, and used these influences to develop the architecture of the period. Records are made both individually, for local purposes, and on a large scale for publication. Historic surveys worth referring to include:
Colen Campbell's Vitruvius Brittanicus, illustrations of English buildings by Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren, as well as Campbell himself and other prominent architects of the era. The Survey of London, founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee and now available through English Heritage. A record of notable streets and individual buildings in the former County of London. Historic American Buildings Survey, records of notable buildings drawn up during the 1930s Depression, this collection is held by the Library of Congress and is available copyright-free on the internet. Record drawings are also used in construction projects, where "as-built" conditions of the completed building are documented to take account of all the variations made during the course of construction.
=== Working drawings ===
A comprehensive set of drawings used in a building construction project: these will include not only architect's drawings, but structural and other engineering drawings as well. Working drawings logically subdivide into location, assembly and component drawings.