DESIGNING 1 ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS Answer these questions. a. Have you ever designed a plan of a house using CAD? b. What other applications can CAD be used for? c. Do you use rendering programs at school? d. Do you know what the acronym BIM means? e. Have you ever heard of the concept of Universal Design ? built-in: incassato DWV system: sistema di scarico fognario easement: servitù finishes: finiture plumbing fixtures: sanitari ed infissi idraulici property lines: confini della proprietà to range: spaziare rear: posteriore remodelling: ristrutturazione ridge height: altezza del colmo del tetto roof-pitches: pendenza del tetto side: laterale sketch: bozza specialized workers: maestranze di cantiere step: (qui) fase terrain: terreno utility service: utenze di luce, acqua e gas walkway: passaggio pedonale whether: se Every building design process is unique. The number of steps varies depending on the complexity of the project and whether you are building a new home, renovating or simply making a few small home improvements. Designers often prepare some concept designs to communicate their ideas. They can range from a simple sketch to hand-drawn models of form and spatial measures taking into consideration property lines, roads and existing buildings. One of the first steps is usually an architectural brief prepared by an architect in which the characteristics of the project, the kind of work and the choice of building materials are described according to the budget of the client. Today all the architectural drawings are prepared using the latest computer design software such as AutoCAD, BIM and rendering programmes. In the USA, architectural drawings are still called Blueprints because, originally, these were reproduced by a technique that resulted in pages with white line on blue paper. The main items of information provided in architectural drawings are: Site plan. This shows the site of a house on the property in its context and outlines the location of utility services, easements, roads and walkways, and sometimes even topographical data that specifies the slope of the terrain. Floor plan. This is a visual projection of the completed house. The dimensions specify room sizes and wall lengths. Floor plans will also indicate rooms, all the doors and windows and any built-in elements, such as plumbing fixtures and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) system, etc. Floor plans will include notes to specify finishes, construction methods or symbols for electrical items. Elevation plan. This includes front, rear and both side elevations. The elevations specify ridge heights, exterior finishes, roof pitches and other details that are necessary to give the home its exterior architectural styling. Section plan. This describes how the building will be constructed and how the internal finishes are to look. Sections provide information about ceiling height, ceiling type (flat or vault) and window and door dimensions. 110 Module 4 FOUNDATIONS Architectural drawings