As buildings and the systems within them have become increasingly complex, so have the two-dimensional drawings that describe all the details of the project. From a simple residence to a large commercial building project, the same basic drawings and related information are required in order to obtain permits, estimate costs, establish a construction schedule, and ultimately construct the project.
2 comments:
Wow. Reading this article was like reading a five minute overview of Dick Block's Studiocraft I and II classes for freshmen Design & Production majors. When I clicked the link, I figured that reading construction blueprints would probably be somewhat different from the conventions we use in theatre. After all, we theatre types tend to take techniques and skills that are useful and bastardize them for our own purposes. Yet, the numerous definitions and words in the article were more or less the same as everything I have learned in drafting thus far. A plan view, a section view, and so on, are all exactly what I learned them to be. Even the attitude for detailing is the same - "Architects are in a hurry like everyone else. Once they have provided a detail or building condition on the plans, they may add a note that says “typical” or “similar” to indicate that there are other locations where this same detail occurs, or where a very similar condition occurs."
I sort of agree with Al regarding my reaction to this article. When I was little, I would see blueprints and just ogle at them because seeing all the engineering of a space laid out on paper was, and still is, a piece of art in my eyes. I have not seen any blueprints recently, but I guess it makes sense that the general building blocks of drafting as we have learned also apply to all varieties of drafting. We learn so many conventions that are so specific to theatre – like the proscenium arch, flat thickness, and raked stages – that I had not made the connection to the larger design world. These sort of universal components are a part of every drafting package, and it is the details that switch between the types of drafting. I thought the coolest thing in this article was being able to look at how different materials are noted in a drafting. In theatre, most everything is made out of wood, or steel in some cases, so there would be no need to have a specific notation for material. It's cool to think that I now have a basic understanding of how to read any kind of drafting.
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