Orthographic Architectural Drawings Step by Step Guide

Orthographic architectural drawings are a crucial part of the design process, providing a clear and accurate representation of a building's layout and features.

These drawings typically consist of a set of two-dimensional views, including front, side, and top elevations, as well as floor plans and sections.

To create these drawings, architects use a range of techniques and tools, including computer-aided design (CAD) software and traditional drawing methods.

By following a step-by-step guide, you can create your own orthographic architectural drawings with ease.

Orthographic architectural drawings are a fundamental part of architectural representation. They are used to illustrate buildings and structures from a two-dimensional perspective.

Orthographic projections are employed on the vast majority of architectural drawings, which are typically performed by hand or automatically generated with the aid of a computer. This technique has been used for most of the history of architectural drawing.

Plan drawings, elevation drawings, and section drawings are all types of orthographic projections. They are drawn from a horizontal plane looking down, a vertical plane looking straight on, or a vertical plane slicing through a building, respectively.

Plan drawings are orthographic projections, and with the exception of plan perspectives, they do not have foreshortening. Elevation drawings and section drawings are also orthographic projections, with the exception of section perspectives.

Here are the different types of plan drawings:

And here are the different types of elevation drawings:

Section drawings are also orthographic projections, with the exception of section perspectives. They are used to illustrate a building or portion of a building by slicing through it vertically.

Before you start drawing, it's essential to have a solid foundation of reference drawings. This will help you accurately draw elevations and pinpoint the exact locations of wall corners, openings, stairs, and decks.

Having detailed floor plans is crucial for this purpose. You'll need to know the length of the walls and the existing or intended ceiling height to draw the walls accurately.

To draw the walls, you'll need to coordinate the location, size, and appearance of doors, windows, and interior openings.

Having a clear purpose in mind is essential to preparing to draw. This helps you stay focused and motivated throughout the process.

A well-defined purpose can be as simple as creating a specific type of artwork, such as a portrait or a landscape. This clarity of purpose will guide your decisions and actions as you prepare to draw.

Understanding your purpose can also help you identify the skills and knowledge you need to acquire. For example, if you want to draw a realistic portrait, you may need to learn about perspective, proportion, and facial anatomy.

Knowing your purpose can also help you set realistic goals and deadlines. This will help you stay on track and make the most of your time and effort.

Having detailed reference drawings is essential for accurate elevation drawings.

Detailed floor plans are a great place to start, as they'll serve as the basis for your elevations.

Each side of the building will be used to pinpoint the exact locations of wall corners, openings, stairs, and decks.

Having these reference drawings ready will save you time and frustration in the long run.

Drawing the building requires attention to detail, especially when it comes to the primary elements that need additional detail or aren't visible in other views.

To accurately draw these elements, start by drawing the wall cladding, counters, and cabinetry.

Having detailed floor plans ready for reference is crucial when drawing exterior facades. This will help pinpoint the exact locations of wall corners, openings, stairs, and decks on each side.

These floor plans will serve as the basis to accurately draw the elevations, making it easier to identify the spatial relationships between different parts of the building.

Draw the primary elements of the space, particularly the things that require additional detail or that are not visible in other views.

Adding details and labels to your orthographic architectural drawings is a crucial step in creating a comprehensive and clear design. This is where you get to add the finishing touches that bring your building to life.

Trim, roof gutters and ridges, stone, siding, and cornices are all details that can be added to your drawing to give clients and builders a better understanding of the design. These details can make a big difference in how the building looks and functions.

Labels and symbols are also essential for clarity. You can add labels for finishes, materials, and specific pieces of furniture or appliances. Symbols may also be necessary for closets and cabinets, with dashed lines to indicate the swing direction of doors.

A well-labeled drawing can save a lot of time and confusion for builders and clients. It's amazing how a simple label or symbol can clarify a complex design element.

Detail drawings and blow-up views are meant to provide an additional level of information about a particular part of the project. These elevation views include plenty of dimensions and text to thoroughly explain the design intents.

In traditional construction, many details were so fully standardized that few detail drawings were required to construct a building. But with modern buildings and the proliferation of different products, methods, and possible solutions, detail drawings are now a standard necessity.

Plan details are large scale drawings that typically show how something is built. These details identify all the materials and connections for construction, and are normally drawn in a plan view at a large scale to show the construction.

Refining the Design is a crucial step in creating orthographic architectural drawings. You'll have a decent idea of how the building looks, and it's time to make aesthetic adjustments.

By this point, you'll have a good understanding of the building's layout and can start making changes to the design. You can adjust things like roof pitch, sill heights, and overhangs to create a more visually appealing building.

Adjusting the roof pitch can greatly impact the overall look of the building. It's essential to consider the climate and location of the building when deciding on the roof pitch.

Making changes to the sill heights can also affect the building's appearance. You can adjust the height of the sills to create a more balanced look or to emphasize certain features of the building.

Overhangs can add a touch of elegance to the building's design. You can adjust the depth and width of the overhangs to create a unique and visually appealing look.

Visual hierarchy is all about prioritizing elements in your drawing to focus on certain aspects of the elevation and its composition. You can grab attention using size, color, line weight, or simply providing white space in an otherwise crowded drawing plane.

Layers can help create depth through line-weight, color, and/or opacity. This can be a powerful tool in organizing your drawing and guiding the viewer's eye.

Similar to the three planes, visual hierarchy enables you to prioritize and organize your elements in a clear and effective way. By using size, color, and line weight, you can create a clear visual flow that draws the viewer's attention to the most important elements.

Providing white space in a crowded drawing plane can be just as effective as using size, color, or line weight to grab attention. It's all about creating a clear and balanced composition that communicates your message effectively.

Drawing techniques and conventions are essential in creating clear and effective orthographic architectural drawings.

Differentiating line types is a key technique used in drawing details, allowing you to distinguish between parts and materials.

You can use a combination of continuous, dashed, dotted, hidden, and phantom lines to improve the legibility of your drawing.

Architects often use these line types to convey spatial relationships and add depth to their drawings.

The weight of a line, or its thickness, plays a significant role in how a drawing is perceived.

A thicker line can create a sense of solidity, while a thinner line can suggest a more subtle or delicate feature.

Different lineweights can be used to add additional levels of detail to complex drawings.

Transparency can also be used in conjunction with lineweights to create a more nuanced and layered drawing.

By varying line types and weights, you can create a range of effects and convey complex information in a clear and concise manner.

This is especially important in architectural drawings, where precision and clarity are paramount.

Drawing specific elements is a crucial step in creating detailed architectural drawings. To start, focus on drawing the primary elements of the space, especially those that require additional detail or are not visible in other views.

Wall cladding, counters, and cabinetry are examples of primary elements that need to be drawn. These elements can be tricky to visualize, so take your time to get them right.

Once you've drawn the primary elements, add labels and symbols to provide more information. Labels can be used for finishes, materials, and specific pieces of furniture or appliances. Symbols may also be necessary for closets and cabinets, with dashed lines to indicate the swing direction of doors.

By isolating the objects you want to focus on, you can create a clear and concise detail drawing or enlarged elevation. This involves analyzing the subject to figure out what can be removed and which objects must be shown.

Drawing primary elements is a crucial step in creating detailed drawings. It involves focusing on the essential features of a space that require additional attention.

To draw primary elements, you need to identify the things that aren't visible in other views, such as wall cladding, counters, and cabinetry. These elements often require more detail to accurately represent the space.

For example, wall cladding can be a key feature in a room, and drawing it accurately is essential for a detailed drawing. Its texture, pattern, and material can greatly impact the overall look and feel of the space.

In some cases, you may need to isolate the objects you want to focus on, removing any unnecessary details to highlight the primary elements. This can help you create a clear and concise drawing that effectively communicates the design.

By concentrating on the primary elements, you can create a detailed drawing that showcases the essential features of a space. This can be especially helpful for architects, designers, and builders who need to communicate complex designs to clients or colleagues.

A roof is a crucial element of a building's design, serving as the final cap to the building enclosure and shaping its profile.

The roof will not be visible in elevation views if it's covered by parapet walls or hidden behind taller portions of the building.

To visualize the roof's layout, you'll need a Roof Plan, which is a drawing of the building from above, showing everything on top, including the roof layout, stair bulkheads, parapets, and potentially roof equipment.

A Roof Plan is a plan that's not cutting through the building, but rather drawn from above, providing a comprehensive view of the roof's details.

Drawing people and vehicles in your design can help illustrate size and scale, making it easier to visualize the building in action.

Adding an entourage of people and vehicles can show how building spaces are used and work, highlighting situations such as access, social interaction, or events.

Populating drawings with life makes it much easier to visualize the building in action, giving a sense of how it will function in real life.

People and vehicles can be added as cutouts, helping to communicate the proportions of the design in human context.

A Reflected Ceiling Plan is a plan of the ceiling within a space, drawn looking down as if there's a mirror on the floor reflecting the ceiling.

This type of architectural drawing is often referred to as an RCP and is a crucial element in building design.

It shows things like lighting, structure, ceiling heights, and soffits.

The RCP can be tricky to understand at first, but it makes perfect sense once you get it.

A section drawing is a specific type of drawing architects use to illustrate a building or portion of a building.

It's drawn from a vertical plane slicing through a building, as if you cut through a space vertically and stood directly in front looking straight at it. This type of drawing is a common design drawing and technical architectural or engineering convention for graphic representation of architecture.

Section drawings are orthographic projections, which means they are not drawn in perspective and there is no foreshortening.

There are different types of section drawings, including:

A section is an orthographic projection representing a vertical cut through an object or building and helps illustrate spatial qualities within a space.

The cut line is typically the darkest line, and it's essential to cut in areas that demonstrate the best and most interesting spaces within the building.