Technical Drawing Basics

Atelier Bow Wow, House & Atelier, Tokyo, 2004

Contents:

Materials and Equipment .................................................................................... p_01

Lineweights, Line Types + Scale ....................................................................... p_02

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Orthographic Multi-View Drawings ................... p_03 - 18

Orthographic Multi-View Drawings ......................................................................................... p_04 - 05
Drawing a Floor Plan ......................................................................................................... p_06 - 08
Rendering a Floor Plan ......................................................................................................... p_09
Drawing Windows and Doors in Plan View ......................................................................... p_10
Elements Below and Above the Line of Cut ......................................................................... p_11
Drawing a Section ......................................................................................................... p_12 - 14
Rendering a Section ......................................................................................................... p_15
The Site Plan ......................................................................................................... p_16
Site Contours ......................................................................................................... p_17
The Site Section ......................................................................................................... p_18

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Single-View Paraline Drawings ................... p_19 - 23

How to Draw an Isometric ......................................................................................................... p_22
Single View Paraline Drawings - Exploded Views ........................................................ p_23

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Single-View Perspective Drawings ................... p_24 - 29

Single-View Perspective Drawing Types ........................................................................ p_25
Single-View Perspective Drawing Characteristics ........................................................................ p_26
Single-View Perspective Drawing Elements ........................................................................ p_27
Single-View Perspective Drawing Terminology ........................................................................ p_28 - 29

N.B.

Drawings and notes in this document have been referenced from:

Francis D.K. Ching, Architectural Graphics, New York, Wiley, 2003, 4th ed

Rendow Yee, Architectural drawing : A Visual Compendium of Types and Methods, Hoboken, Wiley, c2007, 3rd ed

ARCT1010 - Drawing History

Materials and Equipment:

J K

L M

Drawing Materials Drawing Equipment

A: Stump I: T-square
(for blending when rendering - can be used on J: Circle Template and Compass
pencil and charcoal drawings) K: French Curve
B: Tortillon L: Triangle (adjustable and/or fixed at 30o/60o)
(for blending and smudging when rendering - M: Scale Ruler (standard scales of 1:100, 1:200 and
can be used on pencil and charcoal drawings) 1:500 etc.)
C: Clutch pencil sharpener
D: Clutch pencil Drawing Board
E: Clutch Pencil Leads
F: Standard pencil
G: Mechanical pencil
H: Mechanical pencil refills

Eraser
Yellow Trace/Butter Paper

Pencil leads are graded, hardest to softest

Most common lead weights are: 4H, 2H, H, HB and F
HB for dense bold linework and rendering, erases easily and prints well
F and H for general purpose lead weight

Standard paper sizes are as follows:

A4: 297 x 210

A3: 420 x 297
A2: 594 x 420
A1: 841 x 594
A0: 1189 x 594

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_01

Line Weights, Line Types and Scale:

Line Weights:

HB F/H - major/primary: cuts/profiles/slices through spaces

HB F/H - secondary: elevations/corners/intersections of planes

F/H 2H 4H - grid/layout: elevations/corners/intersections of planes

Line Types:

Solid/Continuous Lines are used generally throughout drawing types

above cut (longer dash)

below cut (shorter dash)

Dashed Lines are used mostly in plan drawings to represent or show elements above or below a cut

Centrelines are generally used for grid lines to indicate a modular or structural system

Always strive for:

crispness and clarity
blackness and density
appropriate line weights

Drawing Scale:

The scale of architectural drawings are often smaller than life-size, an architect’s scale features multiple units of length
and proportional length increments.
An architect’s scale is a specialised ruler designed to facilitate the drafting and measuring of architectural drawings,
such as floor plans and orthographic projections.

No single scale is used in architecture. The scale used depends on the level of detail required in the drawing.
Commonly used scales and some of their likely uses are:
1:1000 for site plans or masterplanning
1:500 for site plans
1:200 or 1:100 for plans and elevations
1:50 for plans, sections and elevations
1:20 for part plans, sections and internal elevations
1:10 for details and joinery
1:5 for details

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_02

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Orthographic Multi-View Drawings

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_03

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Orthographic Multi-View Drawings

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_04

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Orthographic Multi-View Drawings

Plan, Section and elevation views are the primary architectural drawings. They are orthographic in nature, that is the
observers line of site is directly perpendicular to the picture plane. They are a series of related views that contribute to
the understanding of the overall composition of the form being drawn.
Facets of a form that are parallel to the drawing surface retain there true size (are to scale), shape and proportion.

Removing, exploding or cutting through a form or building allows for

an understanding of the typical orthographic projections used in
architectural representation.

Two-dimensional multiviews also help us envision and communicate

what the composite three-dimensional form will look like.

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_05

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Drawing a Floor Plan

The floor plan is a sectional view looking down after a horizontal plane has been cut
through a building and the top section removed.

The primary purpose of floor plans is to illustrate the forms and relationships of positive
and negative spaces and the nature of the overall layout of the form.

Floor plans are general drawn at 1:100 or 1:200. The larger the scale of the floor plan the
more detail has to be shown.

Isometric Cut View

Plan View

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_06

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Drawing a Floor Plan

step 1: step 2:
draw the major outline and lines that regulate the give a thickness to your structural elements - walls,
position of structural elements and walls columns etc.

step 3: step 4:
define doorways, entrances, windows, stairways define fixtures, doors and door swings, stair treads.

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_07

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Drawing a Floor Plan
step 5:
a plan view drawn with a single line weight does
not give adequate depth to the drawing, space and
heirarchy is not defined.
step 7:
tonal value or colour can be used to emphasise the
elements that are cut in a plan view - a grey tone
can be used to fill in the cut elements.
ARCT1010 - Drawing History
step 6:
varying lineweights convey depth, the heaviest
lineweight is used to outline those elements that
are cut and therefore closest to the viewer.
step 8:
when floor finishes and furniture are added, a
greater degree of contrast between structural/
primary elements and secondary elements is
required. Cut elements can be rendered in a solid
tone.
p_08
Architectural Drawing Conventions: Rendering a Floor Plan

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_09

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Drawing Windows and Doors in Plan View

Thin

Thicker

Thickest

Figure 3-3
Line weights differ for the walls, doors, arcs, and furniture.

side of the lead on a sandpaper block and rotating the point as you draw. When inking, vary
line weights by choosing different size pen tips. Avoid drawing over one line multiple times to
ARCT1010 - Drawing History widen it, as this often results in poor line quality. Recommended pen: 0.25–0.70 mm. p_10

Hidden Object Hidden object lines define an item that is not visible in the reader’s cur-
rent view but needs to be acknowledged anyhow (see Figure 3-4a). For instance, floor plans
Architectural Drawing Conventions: Elements Below and Above the Line of Cut

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_11

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Drawing a Section

The building section is a horizontal view of a building after

a vertical plan has been cut through it and the front section
removed.

The intent of design sections is to illustrate the relationships

between significant interior spaces.

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_12

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Drawing a Section

step 1:
define the location of the cut from the
plan, draw a grid down from the line of
cut on the plan to setup the preliminary
structure of the section.
heights can initially be defined by standard
room heights or by a grid.

step 2:
define the basic internal structure of the
form using the plan and overall internal
and external height.
lines can be drawn down from the cut
point in plan to define where the structure
is cut through.

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_13

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Drawing a Section

step 3:
add secondary forms like windows and
doors.
locations are taken from the plan and
heights are taken from desired heights or
a grid.

step 4:
define lineweight hierarchy
where the building is cut through lines are
at their heaviest.
additionally you may wish to block out the
line of cut in the section as a single colour.

These drawings illustrate how the elements

of the section can be given a tonal value to
heighten their contrast. Either the structural
and cut elements are darkened or items in
elevation are given shadow and depth.
ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_14
Architectural Drawing Conventions: Rendering a Section

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_15

Architectural Drawing Conventions: The Site Plan

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_16

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Site Contours

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_17

Architectural Drawing Conventions: The Site Section

Site sections aid in illustrating the environment and physical context of a building. They are also pivotal to seeing the
relationship between structures and the exterior spaces they define.

Section through building against sloping landscape. Contour

heights are taken from the site plan and drawn in elevation to
create the slope.

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_18

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Single-View Paraline Drawings

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_19

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Single View Paraline Drawings

Single view or paraline drawings illustrate the three dimensional quality of the form. This allows for a quicker
understanding of the composition of a form through one single pictorial view.

45o 30o

An isometric view of an object will provide a view of three sides. It is important to choose the best view to provide the
most detail.

- All lines are at either 30 degrees except for vertical lines (90 degrees)
- All lines are drawn to scale and can be measured of other orthogonal drawings.
- An isometric view can be used to illustrate an orthogonal drawing

Two ways to create an isometric drawing:

1. Use grid paper as an underlay on your drawing board to provide the axes to sketch the object being
represented.

2. Use a t-square and a 30/60/90 triangle

- use a 90 corner to set the straight edge squarely on the paper
- slide the 30 angle along the straight edge to make the part lines and construction lines at 30, 90 and
150.

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_20

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Single View Paraline Drawings

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_21

Architectural Drawing Conventions: How to Draw an Isometric

orthographic drawings

The most common pictorial drawing is the isometric drawing. The isometric
view provides a likeness of the 3D object and should be drawn to provide
as much detail as possible. The lengths of lines are generally the true
length of the object. (Sometimes the view may be scaled)

set your axes to 30 degrees and

begin building the drawing from plans,
elevations and sections

measure along 1 length and draw that

length at 30 degrees and then a second
length and so on.

draw lines parallel to 30 degrees

add vertical lines

build up drawing by adding windows and

further detail
- all locations and heights are
taken from your orthogonal
drawings.

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_22

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Single View Paraline Drawings - Exploded Views

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_23

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Single-View Perspective Drawings

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_24

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Single-View Perspective Drawing Types

One Point Perspective: One horizontal axis is

perpendicular with the picture plane, the other
horizontal and the vertical axes are parallel with the
picture plane.

Two Point Perspective: Both horizontal axes are

oblique to the picture plane, and the vertical axis
remains parallel with the picture plane.

Three Point Perspective: Both horizontal axes as well

as the vertical axis are oblique to the picture plane.

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_25

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Single-View Perspective Drawing Characteristics

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_26

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Single-View Perspective Drawing Elements

Major Elements of Perspective Drawing

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_27

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Single-View Perspective Drawing Terminology

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_28

Architectural Drawing Conventions: Single-View Perspective Drawing Terminology

ARCT1010 - Drawing History p_29