Unleashing the potential of quality Architectural Construction Drawings

Posted by Bhagwati Iyer Pathak on November 21st, 2018

The Construction Drawing set need to consist of detailed drawings with the scales, layers, installation practices, materials etc. that will be used for construction. Every single detail needs to be called out in the sheets and blown up to help the onsite workers understand the detail. The drawing set should contain colored layers, line thickness, sections or presentation drawings with consistency. A perfect Architectural Drawing set needs to be

• Accurate
• Comprehensive
• Information-Rich & Standardized

We will check out some critical drawings that should be present in a Construction Drawing Set. These items portray the details or requirements in a way that it is easily understood by an onsite contractor.   

2D FLOOR PLANS

Architectural Construction Drawings consists of detailed 2D floor plans that provide a bird’s eye view of the individual floors at different levels. In case of commercial or residential multistoried buildings, it will provide us with individual floor plans of each premise on a particular floor along with a complete floor plan with all the office or all apartment units. This floor plan will have an overview of all the elements present in a floor plan on a basic level.

SITE PLAN

A site plan presents the overall site area with the building location. It shows the way the building responds to the landscape in the surrounding area and also presents the ecological influences around it. 

ELEVATIONS

Elevation Drawings are extremely important part of the construction drawing sets and they present the exterior side of any buildings with the detailing. They present the exteriors with the details that indicate what materials will be used, proportions, door window placements etc.

SECTIONS

Sections are imaginary lines that cut any building across to reveal the details intricately across the building. They are helpful in understanding the level of detailing within the building rooms, dimensioning, placements etc. in a proportionate manner

DETAIL sheet

Detail sheet specifically displays several details that are used during construction and how different materials correlate with each other. Though the drawings are developed keeping in mind the onsite requirement, these additional detail sheets consist of Joinery, connection details, weatherproof details etc. These drawings present those points and details which are not outlined in sections, elevations or plans.

Furniture Layout

Furniture layout plan in an Architectural Construction Drawing Set helps in identifying the furniture location. It includes the tentative positioning of the movable furniture as well as the location of the fixed furniture in the plans

Reflected Ceiling Plan

RCP provides the complete ceiling design and detailing of the false ceiling. The lighting plan, sprinkler layout etc. can be a part of the Reflected ceiling plan.

Apart from the mentioned set of drawings, the Architectural Construction Drawing services can include Door & Window schedules, separate detail sheets, materials and finishes, cabinetry, bathroom fixtures, MEP service layouts etc. Apart from 2D AutoCAD Drawings Architects can create 3D floor plans, 3D renderings etc. to support the working drawing set.

Any Architect or Architectural firm which is experienced will understand the importance of delivering a crystal clear Construction Drawing set with all details outlined intricately. All the communication related to onsite execution should be noted on the drawings. The design intent, material specification, construction process, detailing, the flow of working, layers, details, manufacturer details, and many more aspects should be explicitly be presented. All the drawings need to be uniformly drafted without any discrepancies in the standards that are used. The layers should be color coordinated and should be able to present the requirements clearly. The following items should be clearly defined while creating Architectural construction drawings.

• Layering
• line weights and types
• Scale and Size
• annotation types and Font
• Fonts
• Layout Orientation

Working with buildings that are extremely complex and high on the utility side is very critical. These complexities can be critical and ability to transform the complex building procedure into neat and standardized Working Drawings is where the skill of Architects count.  On-site contractors bank on the drawings that they receive and work accordingly.

Some cross-referencing techniques also help in the easy understanding of the drawings

• Cover sheet with overall site design and Index: The drawing sets are given prefix and are arranged with the drawing type and page numbers 
• Section and Elevation call outs: Helps in the location the section lines through the plans showing the direction
• Keynotes: Adding a description of items that cannot be drawn
• Legends: Symbol depicting certain details in the drawings
• Detailing call outs: There are many important areas where information is required and there is also a need for a close-up view of a particular detail in a drawing.

These are some of the key elements of Architectural Construction Drawings and ways to keep it simple. With the help of accuracy and detailed presentation techniques, Architects or Architectural firms can create complex Construction Documentation Sets for quick implementation of design on site.