Architectural Graphics 101 – Title Blocks

October 19, 2020 by Bob Borson 31 Comments

Architectural Graphics are a topic that it seems everybody has an interest in

discussing – or at the very least, looking at for comparison purposes. After a very
long hiatus, Architectural Graphics 101 is rising from the ashes like the
proverbial Phoenix. It’s been 3 years and 16 days since my last architectural
graphics post and just like the last time I had a steaming hot bowl of Wolf brand
chili, that’s too long.

Architectural Title Blocks - Architectural Graphics 101 from Bob BorsonI thought I
would start with a title block from my current office – BOKA Powell. For the
record, nobody at my current office wants my opinion about how our drawings are
laid out. They haven’t asked, and I haven’t offered … but other than pen weight and
arrowheads, most of the drawing conventions that are in place align with my own
thoughts on the matter. I have been beaten up for so long on the use of chisel
fonts that I’ve decided to leave that alone (for now).

In just about every conceivable way, this title block has all the parts that you
would expect to find on a drawing – but maybe you don’t know what those are. I am
also going to take a few moments to introduce the concept of how you number these
drawings (i.e. the individual drawings on the sheet).

Architectural Title Blocks - Architectural Graphics 101 from Bob Borson

I am going to break this Architectural Graphics 101 post up into just a few small
parts – some of which I have skimmed over in the past but it’s worth repeating.
First off is the numbering of the drawings on the page. Most architectural sheets
have more than one drawing on them and in order to assist with referencing their
location elsewhere, most will have individual numbers. For example, detail 01 “Plan
Detail” can be found in the bottom right-hand corner of the sheet but if I wanted
to reference that drawing elsewhere in the set, I would call it out as “o1/A2.82”
which not only identifies the detail number but also the page in which you can find
it.

I have added a few guidelines on the image above to show that all of these drawings
are lined up with one another for the most part – it just visually keeps the
drawing organized and tidy in its appearance … but we need to talk a minute about
how to identify those drawings – why is detail 04 located where it is?

Architectural Title Blocks - Architectural Graphics 101 from Bob Borson

My preference is that the drawing numbers start in the bottom right-hand corner and
work their way up the page until they reach the top, and at that point, you go back
down to the bottom of the page – essentially one column over and continue working
your way up the page again.

Why?

Some people might think that – just like reading a book or anything else – you
start in the upper left-hand corner and work your way across the page to the right
until they reach the end at which point you drop down a row and continue (much like
how you are reading this sentence). While I will admit that what I am about to say
might be some outdated thinking, at times I still embrace the old ways. Since
printed out drawings are typically stapled along the left-hand side of the page, it
would be better to fill of the sheet on the side opposite the staples just so you
don’t have to open the set wide up in order to see drawing 04 in the corner by the
staple. If you number vertically starting on the right, you can flip the page
partially open.

Of course, now that we are printing out sheets less often, this might not be as
important as it once was but I still see contractors using full-size sets on the
job site.

Architectural Title Blocks - Architectural Graphics 101 from Bob Borson

So let’s get to the actual ingredients that make
part, every title block has the same 6 things on
how old it is. You might see an example that has
less would be “finding a leprechaun sitting on a
rainbow” rare.
up a title block. For the most
it regardless of who made it or
only 5 of these things but 4 or
pot of gold at the end of a

I’ve color-coded three examples here but let’s start with the one from my current
office – BOKA Powell.

Title block labels - Sheet Information (Architectural Graphics 101 by Bob Borson)

Sheet Information is typically found in the bottom-most corner of every title block
and generally contains information that is specific to that particular sheet rather
than the entire set. Things like the page number (A2.82 in this case but I’m not
going to explain the numbering system in this post) are a must and might actually
be the most important piece of information in the title block. The second most
important is the date of the sheet – which is not the same as the dates I’m going
to talk about in the next section. Consider the date here as a “born on” date and
not the date associated with the various milestone issue dates. Once this date is
set, it’s done and should never change.

Title block labels - Drawing Issue Information (Architectural Graphics 101 by Bob
Borson)

Right above the sheet information is the drawing issue information. The dates
reflected here are associated with the entire set and not the individual drawing
page. Things like “Issued for Permitting”, “Issued for Construction”, and “City
Comments” are fairly typical. Major set issue dates are recorded in this section.

Sometimes you will see some legal speak in these sections, along the lines of:

The drawings and written material herein constitute original work of the architect,
and as intellectual property and instruments of service, are subject to copyright
and may not be reproduced, distributed, published or used in any way without the
express written consent of the architect.”

or something very close to that.

Title block labels - Project Data (Architectural Graphics 101 by Bob Borson)

Project Data – at least on my sets – is almost always the project name as well as
the address of the project. Pretty straightforward stuff.

Title block labels - Project Team Data (Architectural Graphics 101 by Bob Borson)

This is the one section that seems to vary the most between project title blocks.
On the BOKA Powell sets, you will find the firms and their contact information for
every consultant who contributed documentation to the set. People like structural
engineers, MEP engineers, landscape architects, acousticians, civil engineers, and
even the specific contact information for the owner.

Title block labels - Architectural Seal (Architectural Graphics 101 by Bob Borson)

If it doesn’t have a seal, it ain’t real. There are a million different rules
associated with when and how an architectural seal is used (and when it can be
electronic or has to be wet, when it has to be signed or just be on the page, etc.)
Best to do your due diligence and make sure you know the rules in the municipality
where the project is being submitted for review.

Title block labels - Firm Logo (Architectural Graphics 101 by Bob Borson)If there
could be a “fun-est” section to a title block, the firm logo would be it. So go
nuts and have fun.

In order for this “Architectural Graphics 101” post to be a value I thought we

should have another example to look at – in this case it is a title block from my
last office. In order to make things easy for comparison purposes, I color-coded
everything once again and after a quick scan, you will see that with one minor
exception, both title blocks have the exact same information on them.

Architectural Title Blocks - Architectural Graphics 101 from Bob Borson

The drawings are laid out in the exact same manner – starting in the bottom right-
hand corner and moving vertically to the top and then coming back down to the
bottom and moving over a row. If a single drawing extends the full height of the
page (as you can see with these wall sections) the drawings just move over to the
next column.

In the title block, the only section missing is the project directory … I just
don’t see a need for it on every page. It’s prominently featured on my cover page
(where there is space to actually list the contact name, phone number, and email
for the specific individual responsible at each firm. Pretty easy stuff to my mind
but that’s the only difference between the two.

… but I’ve gone the extra mile and I have a 3rd example for you. I have shown you
examples from a large firm and a medium-to-small firm, but let’s take a look a the
title block from a sole-practitioner. I reached out to my buddy Eric Reinholdt at
30×40 Design Workshop and asked him to send me a title block for comparison
purposes.

Eric Reinholdt - example of a title block

I’ll avoid the drawing numbering part of the conversation since Eric’s page only
has a single drawing on it and it doesn’t have a number on it. What is interesting
is that other than creating a spot for a North arrow in his title block, Eric has
the same 5 pieces of information in his title block that I had in my last office.

Eric actually has made his template available if you like it so much you want to
use his system – you can check it out here.

Are you convinced yet that title blocks are essentially the exact same the world
over? Maybe that makes them boring but I don’t think so. I have a title block from
a Marcel Breuer drawing but I don’t want to get his foundation up in arms
publishing it here without permission. If you have a cool title block or have
something you think should be added please feel free to let me know – you can even
upload your title block in the comment section if you were so inclined. I promise I
will publish it but my site will flag it as an attachment and I will have to go
into the system and manually free it from comment purgatory (which I will do – no
worries!)
Title blocks are incredibly important which is why I decided to feature them as I
resurrect the Architectural Graphics 101 series. Sadly, for most architects, once
the title block is in place, nobody ever seems to think about it or choosing to
make it something special and reflect their own unique design sensibilities. I have
a weird and no longer secret desire to redesign my own title block … because I am
an architect nerd and that sounds like a good time to me.

Cheers,