Understanding Architectural Drawings

Understanding your architect’s work

When your project begins, it is worth checking that you understand the deliverables the team will be working on and presenting to you. Your architect will use drawings, diagrams, renderings, and other imagery to communicate your next steps and options. The design process works best with swift feedback and approval, so understanding how to read and interpret basic drawings, imagery, and documents plays a large part. Architectural drawing comprehension is not common, so you should not feel remotely embarrassed about asking for help. The best advice when starting  is to ask your architect to see the drawings, renderings, and documents they have created from a project that is similar to yours in scope prior to starting work. You can talk through what was involved with making them and how they were used. Your architect is here to help you at every phase of the design and construction activity. They will want to be a resource and your advocate. They will have been through the process of delivering a project many times before. If you have the right conversations at the beginning of the project and find the required alignments, you’ll succeed.

Understanding construction documents

In the simplest terms, the construction documents are the architectural drawings and specifications that are used to build your project, prepared by the architect and their consultants for the fee in the project agreement. The general term ‘blueprint’ is still used more often than necessary and is a legacy term for a basic set of architectural drawings or prints. These drawings are printed on large sheets of paper and bound together to make a set. They provide basic dimensions, specification information, and the overall look of your project. They are also used by the general contractor and their subcontractors to calculate their prices and then start building. They are two-dimensional, depicting plans, elevations, sections, and other details. The drawing sets will also include notes, diagrams, schedules, and specifications. These specifications (often shortened to specs), can be contained in a separate document that is read together with the drawing set. Your local jurisdiction will also require certain drawings and specifications before assessing a project and approving any building permit application. All these types of drawings combined form your “drawing set” or “construction documents” but let's pull it apart and look individually  at the core elements of the drawing set, the floor plans, elevations, sections, and details.

Floor plans

Floor plans are drawings of the building cut parallel to the floor plane at 4ft off the floor. This is why windows and doors are visible, but elements such as clerestory windows and light fixtures are not. Furniture and other items can be included to test the spatial concepts of the project and to communicate the fit to the client. The purpose of a floor plan is to agree upon room dimensions and placement of windows, doors, and other main features. 

Elevations

Exterior elevations are drawings that depict the outside of the building as though viewed straight on. They are not in perspective, which is the way the world appears to the human eye. Elevations flatten the view at right angles to simplify dimensions and descriptions. They are used to communicate heights, window and door placements, material choices, etc. Interior elevations have the same concept as exterior, but are slightly more abstract as they are bound by the interior walls and do not show wall thickness. They can depict finishes, such as tile, millwork, case goods, lighting, electrical fixtures, and other details.

Sections

Sections are further abstractions that ‘cut’ through the building at a specific point. They show wall thicknesses, as well as interior elevations in the background. Section drawings are used to help understand how project pieces connect. A building section will give a spatial sense or feeling from adjacent room to room, or even to the exterior. They may show how stairs and elevators work, for example. They can demonstrate how the interior connects to the exterior through windows, doors, and the wider structural system. 

Details 

Detailed drawings zoom in on smaller elements of the project. Details are used to determine how materials at a human scale are put together for the project. They can illustrate how reveals and trim of drywall, wood, stone, or tile might feel to the people that use the

space. This is where many architects love to operate, and this conversation would be remiss to leave out the Mies van der Rohe quote: ‘God is in the details.’ The details and material usage can make or break a project. They represent the pieces of a building we see, feel, and touch every day. Unfortunately, they are often overlooked, misunderstood, and engineered out of projects. It cannot be stressed enough to be on the same page as the architect about their approach to details. With a misaligned architect, they may not even exist in the way you want or are expecting. Details are a great starting point for aligning project priorities and verifying the best match with a design professional. Asking the architect to see details from a previous project and have them walk through and explain how they work speaks volumes. You are look-ing for passion from drawings to the finished product. If there is an understanding and appreciation of details that matches yours, then it is a great sign. This part of the relationship is often overlooked, yet a lack of care over the details can ruin a project.  

In summary, it is important to make sure you are on the same page with your team when it comes to how drawings are managed throughout the project. If in doubt, ask for clarification.