DESIGN GUIDE

TECHNICAL DRAWING
INTRODUCTION +
01 LAYOUT

First In Architecture
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part in any form, without the prior written consent of the author.

© 2022 First In Architecture. All Rights Reserved.

 TABLE OF
CONTENTS

01 Introduction

02 Layout

03 Next Steps

04 Thank you!
01

INTRODUCTION
Welcome to our new Technical Drawing Series!

Over this series we will be exploring the world of technical drawing for architecture,
construction and interior design.

We will be looking at best practice for producing drawings. The architect or designers
key tool for communication is drawing. Whether it is a quick concept sketch, or a
detailed construction drawing, this is the primary way we communicate. A drawing
can help us develop our ideas, work through solutions and flesh out the details of our
design. As such, drawings are produced in a number of ways according to the stage
of design. For this series we will mainly be focussing on drawings for design and
presentation (ie, for a planning application) and drawings as a guide for construction
(construction drawings).

We could skip straight to construction stage, but I think it is important to understand

how we develop our drawings and the detail and content that they contain in order to
present the correct information at the correct time.

All too often, technical drawings can contain errors and omissions that make it
difficult for the construction team to follow, and can result in costly mistakes and
oversights.

Such errors or omissions may be:

Uncoordinated drawings – poor numbering, different sources of conflict etc
Errors – general errors or incorrect information
Omissions – information left off the drawing that makes the drawing incomplete
or difficult to understand
Poor presentation – drawing is confusing to read, drawing set is inconsistent in
style, numbering, labelling or content

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When we produce our drawings we must ask ourselves, who is this drawing for, and
what information do they require.

This simple question can allow us to make sure:

we provide an accurate representation of the design intention
the information is clearly expressed and easy to understand
the drawing has sufficient detail for its purpose

I guess you could say that there are two aspects of the technical drawing, the visual
clarity – ie, how clear is the drawing itself in order for it to be understood. Then you
have the content of the drawing, is it correct, does it provide the information the user
will be looking for etc.

The goal of this series is to help students understand the standards and requirements
of technical drawings, including the conventions, and how to visually present the
drawings in a neat and informative way.

Without further ado, let us dive into part 1 of this super informative series - Layout!

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02

LAYOUT
In part one of our technical drawing series, we will look at Layout.
How should a drawing be composed, and what sort of information do we need to
show on our architectural drawings?

Architectural drawings can be produced on varying paper sizes. From A0 all the way
down to A4, paper sizes are assigned according to the information being presented,
office standards, type of project and so on.

No matter the size of the drawing sheet, the drawing layout must fulfill certain
requirements.

Your drawing will require a title block and likely further information and notes. The
layout of our drawings needs to be clear, rational and easy to read.

When creating a set of architectural drawings we must be consistent with the

appearance of each drawing. This includes being consistent with factors such as:
Drawing numbers in a chronological and rational fashion
Title block orientation
Use of fonts and styles through all the drawings
Alignment of drawings

When producing a set of architectural drawings, it is sometimes wise to sketch out

the drawings you intend to produce, how they will appear on the drawing sheet, what
will be included, what the drawing numbers will be and so on.

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Sheet composition

The composition of your drawing sheet is important. If you have more than one
drawing on a sheet, make sure they are in line and space well. Leave a margin around
the page of at least 10mm. Traditionally you would use a border line around the
drawing sheet, although now it has become just as common to have no border.

If you are presenting an architectural drawing sheet with many drawings on it –

details for example, make sure there is order. Adopting an invisible grid format might
help you organise the drawing so that everything stays aligned. When presenting
drawings that are related to one another on the same page, for example a window
head and jamb or a plan and elevation, make sure they are lined through so that the
reader can see the relationship between the two drawings.

Image 01 - a clear, easy to read composition

https://www.archdaily.com/882669/nirau-house-paul-cremoux-wanderstok/59f81309b22e3853dd0000ad-nirau-house-paul-
cremoux-wanderstok-section

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Image 02 - the main drawing is centred on the page with the small details aligned and evenly spaced.
https://www.archdaily.com/882669/nirau-house-paul-cremoux-wanderstok/59f81309b22e3853dd0000ad-nirau-house-paul-
cremoux-wanderstok-section

Image 03 - drawing sections line through, and neatly centred on the page
https://archinect.com/people/project/30212913/construction-document-work/35006584
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Image 04 - Section details line through with finished floor levels
https://archinect.com/people/project/30212913/construction-document-work/35006584

Image 05 - An invisible grid gives these drawings a clear order

https://sketchupbook.com

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Title Blocks

Title blocks can be displayed both horizontally and vertically, and can depend on
office standards, aesthetics, or the information displayed on the sheet. It is more
common to see a title block on the right hand side of a drawing displayed vertically.

It is important the the title block remains consistent within your architectural drawing
package, and the format, font and sizing remains the same.

The title block typically contains the following information:

Name of Architecture Practice (address, contact information, email etc)
Practice logo
Revisions list
Notes (this is sometimes separate to the title block)
Key plan
Name of project
Location of project
Client name
Project number
Drawing title
Sheet/Drawing number
Scale of drawing
Date

Title blocks vary from company to company, here are a few examples of title blocks,
some traditional and some more contemporary.

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Image 06 - Example of a title block
https://archinect.com/people/project/50110529/construction-documents-partial-set/59094675

Image 07 - Example of a title block

https://sketchupbook.com

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Image 08 - Example of a title block
http://portfolios.scad.edu/gallery/47963911/STUDIO-2-Construction-Documents

The key takeaway here is that the information is clear, concise and easy to read.
These title blocks provide suitable information to anyone viewing the drawing so that
they can understand the nature of the drawing, who it has been drawn by, the
location of the project, when it was drawn and so on.

Never produce a drawing, whether for a client or for a student project, that doesn’t
have a title block/ basic information. (This of course excludes presentation boards,
visualisations etc, which is different).

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03

NEXT STEPS
RESOURCES

You can find both the series introduction and Layout guide on our website:

SERIES INTRO 01 - LAYOUT

Here is a great article on Architectural Graphics, by Bob Borson for some further
reading:

LIFE OF AN ARCHITECT

So, now that we have our basic drawing layouts and title blocks covered, its time to
move on and start looking at labelling and annotation. Check out the next part of the
series, here:

02 - LABELLING AND ANNOTATION

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04

THANK YOU!
I hope you have found this guide useful.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.

If you have any questions or comments please send me an email at -

[email protected]

Thanks again,
Emma
https://www.firstinarchitecture.co.uk/

HAPPY DRAWING ;)

Author

Written by Emma Walshaw, founder of First In Architecture and the

Detail Library. Emma developed First In Architecture to help students

with their studies. She loves to take complicated topics and break them
down into simple explanations.

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