Characteristics of Drawings

Floor plans: Overall dimensions and room sizes are shown. Walls are sometimes filled (very dark) for visibility. All rooms must be identified to avoid ambiguity. Furniture and equipment, patios, parking areas and landscaping close to the building should be shown.

-          Elevations: One or more elevations may be drawn but the front elevation is a must. To indicate scale, conventionalized human figures are placed close to the building. Also, shrubs, trees (most times transparent) are indicated for realism i.e. to explain the form. Conventional shadows are drawn in.

-          Vertical sections: When a cross section through a building is shown, only important dimensions are indicated.

-          Perspective: Exterior and interior perspectives are usually drawn of the important features of the building and sometimes of the entire project (aerial perspective). The perspective is usually approximate, rather than projected (real/true/accurate).

-          Life: The drawings have a relatively short life as they are seldom seen by the building contractor. It is from these drawings that production or working drawings are prepared with such modifications as may be necessary.

*Lettering in particular must be carefully arranged and executed but mainly restricted to title, labelling of plans, elevations and sections, names of rooms etc. and possibly, some brief general notes.