Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter 1-Construction Graphics-An Overview
Chapter 1-Construction Graphics-An Overview
1 provides some background information on the processes and people
involved in construction projects, as well as the role of graphics in construction
projects.
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To fully describe how a project is to be built both words and graphics are necessary.
There are a lot of written documents that are produced for most projects; contracts,
specifications, general conditions, and supplementary general conditions. However,
much of the information describing the construction will be in the form of drawings;
plans, elevations, sections, details, as well as other drawings. To fully understand
what needs to be built, the builder needs to be able to understand both the written
and graphic information presented.
The sharing of information about how the project will be built is a two‐way
conversation. The contractual requirements are transmitted to the builder through a
set of Contract Documents which contain the written and graphic information. During
the course of construction the builders will provide “submittals” to the designers
showing how they propose to build the project. These submittals will also be in the
form of both written and graphic information. Therefore, builders must also be able
to understand the drawings produced by the designers, but also produce drawings of
their own to illustrate how they plan to build the project.
If builders also understand the goals of the designers as well as their concerns, they
can become valuable partners to the owner and designer as they can interpret the
design documents and be able to offer Value Engineering suggestions of their own‐
proposing alternate ways of building the project which may be more effective.
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The design process is typically very long and involves a lot of different parties. The
drawings that are provided to the builder are created during this design process.
Therefore it needs to be understood that the builder is not the only party for whom
the drawings are created. There are other parties who will be reviewing the drawings,
such as the owner and regulatory officials. This means that some of the information
presented in the drawings, and/or the manner by which the drawings are created is in
response to the needs of these other parties, not the builder.
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As with spoken language, there can be variations in how drawings are created and
elements are represented, “dialects and accents”. The reasons for these variations are
many: different project types have different standards, there can be geographical
differences, offices may have their own standards, individuals may have their own
standards. There have been efforts at standardizing drawings. These efforts began in
the 1930’s with the production of the Graphic Standards text and have continued
through the present time in the creation of uniform standards for computer graphics.
However, no one really follows all of the standards all of the time. Therefore care
must be taken when reviewing drawings not to assume things, but to truly
understand how the drawings were created and how elements are represented.
When in doubt, ask the party who created the drawing.
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Almost all construction projects are group endeavors. The number of participants can
be in the hundreds on major projects, not counting the trades people physically
building the project itself. If they are also included the total number of participants
can be well over a thousand. Communication between these participants becomes
critical if the project is to be built successfully. As previously mentioned, some of this
communication will be in the form of drawings.
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There can also be different points of view among the participants. This is often a
process of the “socialization” process of each participant and what their role is.
Builders often have the view that designers do not really understand how things are
built, therefore their designs are often impractical. Designers often believe that
builders are only interested in building things the cheapest way possible, sometimes
ignoring what the designer has shown in the drawings. There can also be differences
among the design consultants. Architects are typically generalist who must have a
broad view of the entire project while not having an in‐depth knowledge of the
specific elements. Engineers are typically seen a specialist who concentrate on one
element of the project. There is a saying about these differences: “Architects learn
less and less about more and more until they eventually know nothing about
everything, while Engineers learn more and more about less and less until they
eventually know everything about nothing”.
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Many of the conflicts and misunderstandings that occur on projects are a result of
these different “cultural” points of view. It is therefore important to try to understand
the points of view of the different parties in a project and to avoid stereotypes. This is
also an important component of good communications.
The text makes an important distinction in how designers and builders view graphics.
Designers look at drawings as to how they reflect the finished product of the
construction process and whether it will satisfy all the requirements imposed on it;
structural requirements, fire code requirements, aesthetic requirements,
programmatic requirements, etc. Builders view drawings in a more process‐oriented
way; how the elements shown will be built. Both points of view are valid and should
be recognized by all parties. This results in a more complete understanding of the
drawings.
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