ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN

Instructor: Architect Eva Maria Villanueva

FLOOR PLAN
a drawing of the outline and partitions of a building as you would see them at the building were cut horizontally
at about 4 feet or 1.20m
the plan is the beginning of the building. It is the foundation upon which the scheme of the structure rests. It
relates the various units to each other
the design process should always proceed from within to without

2 THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN DESIGNING A PLAN

1. the arrangement of the units according to practical requirements
2. the arrangement according to the rule of abstract design

FLOOR PLAN SKETCHING

1. Preliminary sketching
shows desirable size proportion and relationship of each room to the entire plan
offsets and indentations are smoothed by increasing the dimensions of some rooms and changing slightly the
arrangement of the others
modular sizes are established
exact positions and sizes of doors and windows are determined
2. Final sketching
single line sketches are change to define wall thickness and include property features
location of shrubbery, trees, patios, driveways, gardens, etc. are included

STEPS IN DRAWING FLOOR PLANS

1. block the overall dimensions of the house and add the thickness of the outside walls with a hard pencil
2. layout the position of interior partitions
3. locate the position of doors and windows by center line and by their widths
4. darken the object lines with an F pencil
5. add doors and window symbols with a 2H pencil
6. add symbols for stairwells
7. erase extraneous lines if they are too heavy. If they are extremely light, they can remain
8. draw the outlines of the furniture and fixtures
9. add the symbols and sections for any masonry work such as planters
10. dimension the drawing

DOORS AND WINDOWS IN PLAN

1. show normally swinging doors at 90 opening
2. doors swings are shown with light lines and quarter symbols
3. door type is not illustrated in plan, only in elevational views
4. window type cannot be explained in plan except for width and location : window type and height are shown in
elevational views
5. show sill lines with a lighter line weight than wals, jambs and glass, since sills are not in fact cut through

WALL INDIATIONS
- note that what is cut through in plan (walls, columns, etc.) takes precedence and should be dominating value;
what is seen within plan (flooring, counters, furniture, etc.) should be lighter in value

RULES FOR DIMENSIONING FLOOR PLANS

1. architectural dimension lines are unbroken lines with dimensions placed above the lines. Arrowheads, dots,

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small circles and diagonal lines are used to denote the termination of the dimension line. Dots are used when the
area to be dimensioned is too small for arrowheads. Arrowheads may also be placed outside the extension lines
when the area is too small
dimensions should be placed to read from the right or from the bottom of the drawing. The numerals should
always be written above the lines
dimension lines are placed about 3/8 apart. To avoid crossing extension and dimension lines, place the longer
dimensions farther away from the plan. Overall building dimensions are placed outside all other dimensions
when the area to be dimensioned is too small for the numerals, they are placed outside the dimension lines. Do
not try to fancy up dimensions with artistic numerals, legibility is the only concern
rooms are dimensioned form the center line of partitions. In some cases, they may be dimensioned from wall to
wall, exclusive of wall thickness
in dimensioning stairs, the number of risers is placed on a line with an arrow indicating the direction (up or down)
architectural dimensions always refer to the actual size of the building regardless of the scale of the drawing
never crowd dimensions. To free the plan of excessive dimensions, the sizes of doors and windows are given in
the door and window schedule. All obvious dimensions are also omitted

SECTIONS
architectural sections are drawings that show a building cut in half by an imaginary plane called a cutting plane.
All the material on one side of the cut is removed so that the interior can be studied
the position of the cutting plane is shown by the cutting plane line. A cutting plane line is a long heavy line
followed by two dashes. It is placed in the part to be sectioned, and the arrows at its ends show the direction from
which the section is to be viewed
the cutting plane line often interferes with dimensions, notes and details. In this case, an alternative method
wherein only the extremes of the cutting plane line are used. The cutting plane line is then assumed to be straight

KINDS OF SECTIONS
FULL SECTION
- a section cut through the entire building or component
a. cross section a section showing a crosswise cut through the building
b. longitudinal section a section showing a transverse or lengthwise cut through building
OFFSET SECTION
- a section with a cutting plane line offset to permit it to cut through necessary features
HALF SECTION
- a cut to remove only one quarter of a symmetrical component. Thus both exterior and interior can be shown in
one view

POINTS TO REMEMBER IN DRAWING SECTIONS

1. a building material is only sectioned when the cutting plane line passes through it. The outline of all other
materials visible behind the plane of projection must also be drawn in their proper position and scale
2. as with floor plans, whatever is cut through in taking a section (floor, walls, roof structure, etc.) is profiled with a
heavy line
3. cut sections through major elements in a building (major window openings, doorways, changes in roof and floor
levels, roof opening, etc.). never cut through columns
4. it is good practice to include people in building design section to give a scale to the spaces
5. the physical context of the building should always be shown buy indicating the earth upon which it sits, which is
also cut through
6. construction details and foundations need not be indicated in design sections

RULES FOR DIMENSIONING SECTIONS

1. vertical dimensions should be read from the right of the drawing
2. levels to be dimensions should be labeled with a note, term or abbreviation
3. room heights are shown by dimensioning from the floor line to the ceiling line
4. the height of windows and doors are dimensioned from the floor line to the top of windows and doors. Windows
and doors may be indexed to a door and window schedule, or the style of the windows and doors may be shown
on the sectional drawing.
5. sectional dimensions show only vertical distances. horizontal distances are shown in the floor plan
6. dimensions for small, complex, or obscure areas should be indicated to a separate detail

7. overall height dimensions are placed on the outside of subdimensions

ELEVATIONS
- the main feature of the outside of a building are shown on the elevation drawings. Elevation drawings are
orthographic drawings of the exterior of a building. They are prepared to show the design, materials, dimensions, and
final appearance of the exterior of a building
- only horizontal distances can be established in the floor plan. Thus, the vertical height such as the height of
windows and doors must be shown on the elevations
4 TYPES OF ELEVATION ACCORDING TO FUNCTIONAL ORIENTATION
front elevation
- the view projected from the front of a building
rear elevation
- the view projected from the rear of a building
right side elevation
- the view projected from the right side of a building

left side elevation

- the view projected form the left side of a building

ELEVATIONS ACCORDING TO COMPASS ORIENTAITON

- a method of projecting the elevations of a building with no so-called front or rear view

STEPS IN PROJECTING ELEVATIONS

The major lines of an elevation are derived by projecting vertical lines from the floor plan, and measuring the
position of the horizontal lines from the ground line
vertical line projection
- vertical lines represents the main lines of a building should first be projected. These lines show the
overall length or width of the building. They also show the major parts or offsets of the building. The position of
the doors and windows are also projected from the floor plan
horizontal line projection
- horizontal lines that represents the height of the eave line and ridge line above the ground are
measured, then drawn to intersect with the vertical lines drawn from the floor plan. The intersection of these
lines provide the overall outline for the elevation

KITCHENS
A well planned kitchen is efficient, attractive and easy to maintain. In designing an efficient kitchen, the
following must be considered:

a. function
b. basic shape
c. dcor
d. size
e. location of equipment

FUNCTION OF A KITCHEN
The basic function of a kitchen is food preparation. In some cases, the kitchen is also used as an informal dining
area and as a laundry area

THREE AREAS OF THE KITCHEN

storage center
- the focal point of the storage center is the refrigerator, although many cabinets for non-refrigerated
food, dishes and utensils must be provided. The refrigerator may be free-standing, built-in or suspended from a
wall
- to save steps, the refrigerator may be located near the delivery door, or nearest the door to the
living/dining area
preparation and cleaning center

- this center is built around the sink and its adjoining counter space
- the preparation and cleaning center may also include a waste-disposal unit, an automatic dishwasher,
and cabinets for storing brushes, towels and cleaning supplies
cooking center
- the cooking center is grouped around the range/stove. Range-oven combinations are often 36 inches
or 0.90 meter high, so counters should be designed at the same height
- the cooking center should also include countertop workspaces, as well as storage for small appliances
and cooking utensils that will be used in the area. The cooking center must have an adequate supply of electrical
outlets for the minor appliances used in cooking

WORK TRIANGLE
If you draw a line connecting the three centers of the kitchen, a triangle is formed. This is called a work triangle.
The perimeter of an efficient work triangle should be between 12 and 22 feet or 3.7 and 6.7 meters

BASIC SHPAES OF THE KITCHEN

1. PULLMAN
- this shape of kitchen, consisting of a long corridor with utilities on either side, is often used when space
is at a premium. Doors may be at either end or one end only.
- this shape of kitchen is unsatisfactory if a considerable traffic passes through the work triangle
- a Pullman kitchen produces one of the most efficient work triangles of all the arrangement

2. U-SHAPED
- this type of kitchen has cabinets on three walls, the sink usually in the middle, and the refrigerator and
stoves on opposite sides. This plan is adaptable for both small and large rooms
- in this arrangement, traffic passing through the kitchen is completely separated from the work triangle
- the open space between the sides may be 4 or 5 (1.2 or 1.5m)

3. L-SHAPED
- probably the most commonly used arrangement, the L-shaped kitchen is efficient because it allows for
two doors without any interruption of countertop area
- this type of plan has continuous counters and appliances and equipment on two adjoining walls. The
work triangle is not often used for other kitchen facilities, such as dining and laundry
- if the walls of an L-shaped kitchen are too long, the efficiency is destroyed

4. PENINSULA
- the peninsula kitchen is similar to the U kitchen. However, one end of the U is not enclosed with a wall.
The peninsula is often used to adjoin the kitchen to the dining or family rooms
- this kind of layout may be used only with large rooms. It is called peninsula when the bar runs
perpendicular to a wall, and an island when it is freestanding

5. ONE-WALL
- this layout is used when a kitchen must be fitted in a long, narrow space such as in small apartments,
cabins or houses where little space is available
- the work centers are located in an efficient although not ideal arrangement. In planning the one-wall
kitchen, the designer must be very careful to avoid having the wall too long, and must provide adequate storage
facilities

LOCATION OF THE KITCHEN

The kitchen must be located near the service entrance and near the waste disposal area. If possible, the
childrens play area should also be visible from the kitchen. The kitchen must always be adjacent to the dining area or
when provided, outdoor dining areas.

GUIDES IN PLANNING A KITCHEN

1. the traffic lane is clear of the work triangle
2. the work areas include all necessary appliances and facilities. Electrical outlets must be provided for the
appliances. There must be adequate storage centers for all work areas
3. the kitchen is located adjacent to the dining area and near the childrens area
4. the work triangle measures less than 22 or 6.7m
5. shadowless and glareless light is provided and is concentrated on each work center

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adequate counter space is provided for meal preparation

ventilation is adequate
the oven/range/stove is separated from the refrigerator by at least one cabinet
working height for counter is 36 or 0.90m
the combination of base cabinets, wall cabinets, and appliances provides a consistent standard unit without gaps
or awkward extension or depressions