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If you're looking for architectural drawings that show the side view of a building, you'll want to focus on Elevation drawings, specifically the Elevation A, B, and C drawings.
These drawings are essential for architects and builders to visualize the building's exterior and ensure it meets local building codes and regulations.
Elevation drawings typically show the building's exterior from the side, highlighting important features such as windows, doors, and exterior materials.
They are often used to identify potential design flaws and make necessary adjustments before construction begins.
Types of Drawings
Types of drawings are essential for architects, engineers, and builders to communicate complex information about a project's design and construction. Section drawings illustrate sections or parts of buildings, showing internal features that aren't visible in standard plan drawings.
Section views can be cut along an imaginary plane, letting you see internal features that aren't visible in standard plan drawings. This type of drawing is crucial for builders to understand the internal structure of a building.
Elevation drawings, on the other hand, display the exterior views of a building from different sides. These drawings help you understand the appearance, proportions, and design details of a building's facades.
There are different types of elevation drawings, including exterior views, architectural features, dimensions, and scale. Exterior views show the arrangement of doors, windows, materials, and other facade elements.
Elevation drawings can also be used to visualize the inside of specific rooms, such as kitchens, to help with design and installation. These drawings can be very helpful for renovations and interior design of spaces like offices.
Elevation drawings are often represented on plan views by elevation tags, which have an arrow that points in the direction that the elevation is facing. There are two commonly used naming schemes for elevation views: one using four basic directions (Front, Right, Rear, and Left) and another based on compass directions (North, East, South, and West).
Here are some key elements that an elevation drawing should include:
- All openings (windows and doors)
- Include all floors
- External elements (such as stairs, balconies, columns, porches, or chimneys)
- All materials (timber cladding, zinc or glass for example)
- Landscape (anything in line or behind your elevation)
- Floor and ridge height levels
- Entourage – people, vehicles, furniture, trees etc (to add scale)
- Shadows (to highlight protruding or recessive opening and objects)
- Roofing and awnings
- Dimensions
- Exposed structural members
- Finishes and decorative accessories
View Orientations
Elevation drawings can be represented on plan views by elevation tags, which have an arrow pointing to the direction the elevation is facing.
There are two commonly used naming schemes for elevation views. The first one uses four basic directions starting with the side that faces the street, including Front Elevation, Right Elevation, Rear Elevation, and Left Elevation.
The second method is based on compass directions, with a North Elevation, East Elevation, South Elevation, and West Elevation. This is determined by the direction the elevation faces.
Here are the four basic directions used in the first naming scheme:
- Front Elevation: faces the street
- Right Elevation: faces the right side of the building
- Rear Elevation: faces the back of the building
- Left Elevation: faces the left side of the building
Elevations can also be named based on compass directions, such as North Elevation, East Elevation, South Elevation, and West Elevation.
Understanding Drawings
Elevation drawings are a crucial part of architectural drawings, showing the exterior views of a building from different sides. They help you understand the appearance, proportions, and design details of a building's facades.
To create an effective elevation drawing, it's essential to include all the necessary elements, such as exterior views, architectural features, dimensions, and scale. Most drawings show the sides of structures at a 1:100 scale, but you can find elevations with other scales.
An elevation drawing should show all openings, including windows and doors, as well as all floors, external elements, and materials used for cladding. It should also include landscape features, floor and ridge height levels, entourage (people, vehicles, furniture, trees, etc.), shadows, roofing, and awnings.
Here are the key elements to include in an elevation drawing:
What Is a Drawing?
A drawing is a visual representation of an idea or concept. It's a way to communicate and convey information about a design or proposal.
Elevation drawings, for example, show a building's exterior or interior vertical surfaces. They're typically drawn in an orthographic view, to scale, to show the exact size and proportions of the building's features.
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In architecture, elevation drawings are used to describe the vertical interface between the interior and exterior of a building. They break down the external envelope into individual segments and describe each surface separately.
An elevation drawing should show everything that makes up and features on the particular side of the building you want to represent. This includes all openings, floors, external elements, materials, landscape, and more.
Here's a list of what an elevation drawing should show:
- All openings (windows and doors)
- Include all floors
- External elements (such as stairs, balconies, columns, porches, or chimneys)
- All materials (timber cladding, zinc or glass for example)
- Landscape (anything in line or behind your elevation)
- Floor and ridge height levels
- Entourage – people, vehicles, furniture, trees etc (to add scale)
- Shadows (to highlight protruding or recessive opening and objects)
- Roofing and awnings
- Dimensions
- Exposed structural members
- Finishes and decorative accessories
How to Read
Reading drawings can be intimidating, but it's actually quite straightforward once you know what to look for. Elevation drawings, in particular, show the exterior views of a building from different sides, and they're essential for understanding the appearance, proportions, and design details of a building's facades.
To start, remember that elevation drawings are drawn on a vertical plane looking straight onto a building façade or interior surface, so all objects appear along a single plane with no perspective effect. This means that objects in the distance appear the same size as those close up.
When viewing an elevation drawing, it's helpful to locate the same side of the building in floor plans and perspectives if available. This will give you a better understanding of the design and help you interpret the elements in the elevation.
Take note of any annotations on the drawing indicating floor heights, levels, materials, and fixtures. These details are crucial for understanding the design and making sense of the elevation.
Here are the key elements to look for in an elevation drawing:
- All openings (windows and doors)
- All floors
- External elements (such as stairs, balconies, columns, porches, or chimneys)
- All materials (timber cladding, zinc or glass for example)
- Landscape (anything in line or behind your elevation)
- Floor and ridge height levels
- Entourage – people, vehicles, furniture, trees etc (to add scale)
- Shadows (to highlight protruding or recessive opening and objects)
- Roofing and awnings
- Dimensions
- Exposed structural members
- Finishes and decorative accessories
By paying attention to these elements, you'll be able to get a clear understanding of the design and make sense of the elevation drawing.
Frequently Asked Questions
What drawing would show the exterior view of a building?
An elevation drawing shows the exterior view of a building from the side, typically from ground level to the top of the structure
Sources
- https://www.mysiteplan.com/blogs/news/architectural-drawing-types-explained
- https://techversol.com/Blogs/architecture/which-architectural-drawings-show-side-view/
- https://parsonsjoinery.com/blog/plan-section-and-elevation-drawings
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/which-architectural-drawings-show-side-view-building-techversol-j3hzc
- https://www.archisoup.com/architectural-elevation-drawings
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