Chapter 13 Visual Communication: Drawings, Renderings, and Models 451 Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. type of drawing to use depends on what you are trying to communicate to the client and what is not important. Orthographic Drawings Orthographic drawings include floor plans, eleva- tions, and sections. Designers most commonly use these drawings to communicate interior environments in scale. Typically, the designer drafts orthographic draw- ings either by hand or on a computer. If drawn by hand, the designer completes each drawing separately. If using CAD or BIM software, the floor plan can be drawn once and the computer program will generate the eleva- tions and sections on command. If the building is multi- level, the software can easily generate a second floor plan using the first as a template. The designer then modifies the second floor as necessary. Construction drawings are developed using a set of archi- tectural conventions. Standard architectural symbols are used for floor plans, elevations, and sections. For exam- ple, template symbols of a refrigerator, sofa, or desk are commonly used to speed up the process. Standardiza- tion of symbols develops a quick understanding of the drawing details. Residential projects are typically drafted using the scale of 1/4" = 1'-0". Commercial projects are typically drafted using 1/8" = 1'-0". Floor Plans Also called plans, designers develop floor plans from a bird’s-eye view. See Figure 13-25 A. To determine what to draw, imagine a horizontal cut-through of the building at four feet above floor level with the ceiling or roof removed. You can then hypothetically peer inside and look down on the plan. The floor plan communicates the wall locations door and window locations means of vertical circulation through building, such as stairs or elevator scale and measurements and spatial relationships. In addition to scale, the plan always uses an arrow to indicate the North direction. This helps the designer to understand the direc- tional orientation of the building to the site. The designer or design team can analyze a floor plan to determine ■ the advantages of room adjacencies ■ whether door and window locations make sense ■ the proportion of spaces related to each other ■ circulation flow—or the way in which people move throughout the building from entrance to egress In multi-level buildings, designers can also analyze a vertical stack, such as a common elevator core that pierces through each level. Unfortunately, clients typi- cally struggle to understand a floor plan. As a two- dimensional drawing it can be difficult to perceive in three dimensions. With the addition of furniture to the floor plan, it becomes a furniture plan, Figure 13-25 B. A floor plan is the most common orthographic drawing used by architects and interior designers. Elevations If a floor plan is a two-dimensional drawing of the floor, an elevation is a two-dimensional vertical slice through the same space that shows a front or side view, Figure 13-25 C. If there are four walls to the room, then you may need to draw four elevations. An elevation indicates the height and width of each wall. Horizontal lines at the top and base of the drawing indicate ceiling and floor heights. The goal of an elevation is to communicate architec- tural and interior details the client cannot understand on the floor plan and to depict only the interior space. Elevations show window placement, wall details such as built-in cabinets, and such architectural details as columns or crown molding. Elevations also illustrate the heights of doors, windows, and other openings. The designer must clearly key the elevation (such as identi- fying the north wall), scale, and reference the elevation to the floor plan. With the inclusion of furnishings, the elevation becomes an interior elevation. Sections While an elevation is a single wall within a room, a section is a series of multiple walls from different rooms along a consecutive plane, Figure 13-25 D. They are a verti- cal slice cut through an entire length or width of building. The designer uses different line weights—thicker lines for outside walls and thinner lines for interior walls—to differentiate exterior or interior walls, three-quarter walls, and half-walls. A designer draws a section to indicate interior relationships, details such as doors and windows, changes in floor levels, and ceiling heights. There are both construction sections and interior sections. Construction sections show materials and criti- cal dimensions necessary for building walls, floor, and ceilings. Interior sections indicate forms and finish mate- rials in the adjoining spaces. It is important to clearly key and reference all sections to the floor plan. The designer must also indicate scale on both types of sections.