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Appendix D
Drawings
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Purpose of Drawings
Commonly known either as “working drawings” or “construction drawings,” the drawings
forming part of the construction documentation package are a means of
communicating, in standard formats, information in graphic language using lines,
graphic symbols, CAD or building information modeling (BIM) representations and
written annotations.

FIGURE 1 Format for Construction Documents

A fundamental change in the meaning of drawing has occurred following the widespread
implementation of BIM. Since the emergence of architecture as a profession and the
split between the master builder and the designer, drawings have been defined as a
representation of the building. The drawing captured the design intent. The constructor
was then expected to interpret the design intent as described using the language of
drawing. The adoption of parametric modelling through BIM and the use of the same
model by all the design consultants and the construction forces has resulted in a
redefining of the drawing as a modality of communication. The “model” is less a
representation of design intent and has become the building writ small or rather the
building writ digital. This change has resulted in increased expectations of accuracy,
resolution, and visualization for the design team.

The graphic information is traditionally represented in the form of orthographic

projection views, such as floor plans, elevations and vertical sections, at various scales as
appropriate to show the general arrangement of building elements and components, or
to detail illustrations of specific features or elements. Perspective, axonometric and
isometric views are also sometimes included to better illustrate complex arrangements,
or assemblies, where appropriate, to better describe the design. Buildings are
increasingly designed and documented as three-dimensional models, in part or in whole,
using either CAD software or building information modeling (BIM) systems, and from
which both orthographic and three-dimensional views can be extracted for inclusion in
construction document sets.

In building renovation projects, and more particularly in heritage building rehabilitation

and conservation projects, annotated photographs are also used as an efficient and
convenient way to accurately represent the scope and nature of the work. These types of

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representations describe the relationships between building components (sometimes

referred to as building assemblies or construction systems) and have the following
characteristics:

location of the building and exterior amenities in relation to fixed references;

spatial location of elements in reference to fixed references and/or each other;
name or identification of spaces, elements or assemblies for referral to other
documents;
size and dimension;
shape and form;
design intent and requirements or scope of work specifications;
details or diagrams of connections for the building assembly.

Where design intents make it necessary, highly customized, unusual or innovative

architectural details will be prominently featured in the drawings set as “prescriptive”
graphic information. The large number of specific detail drawings and distinct views
thereof will represent a high proportion of the time and effort invested in the
construction documents development for architects. Where the achievement of such
design intents is considered key to the project’s objective, they will also need early
development and refinement so as to facilitate the timely resolution of design solutions
for the related subordinate building elements in other disciplines.

Where the technical orientations defined at the schematic design stage project involve
working with generic industry-standard conventional or specific proprietary component,
assembly or system designs, it may be possible for construction documents to refer
directly to the source documentation and not include graphic or written information
readily available to users from standards organizations or manufacturers of proprietary
components. Such features and characteristics, and all relevant information, may be
extensively documented by their sources so as to be readily available to be inserted
directly into drawings and/or specifications.

Construction drawings generally consolidate repetitive key information on separate

sheets, references to which are inserted in other drawings, such as:

schedules in tabular format providing specific information on various building

elements or features such as:
door/door frame/hardware, using door numbers indicated on plan views;
interior floor/ceiling/wall finishes, using room names/numbers indicated on
plan views;
graphic representations of “typical” building components or assemblies, such as:
exterior wall composition(s);
roofing composition(s);
interior partitions and walls composition(s);
floor/ceiling assemblies including finishing materials and systems;
door and door frame elevations and frame insertion details;
interior glazed partitions’ compositions and elevations;
indicating composition, materials, dimensional requirements and, as applicable,
specific performance requirements, such as:
thermal properties of building envelope elements;
fire-resistance ratings of vertical or horizontal separations;
acoustical properties of vertical or horizontal separations.

In larger and/or more complex projects, it may be more efficient for this type of
information to be in a separate document formatted for this purpose, or directly within
the specifications binder as, for example, appendices to the relevant specifications
sections.

Many different individuals and organizations use drawings for a variety of purposes. The
primary users are the architect and consultants, contractor and subcontractors,
suppliers, and individual workers — the parties that are bound to one another to design
or construct a building. Additional users may include:

authorities having jurisdiction;

financial institutions;
tenants and end users of the building;
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facility managers and maintenance personnel;

other construction industry professionals.

The construction drawings are used by:

bidders:
to prepare bids and to obtain bids from their subcontractors and suppliers;
to form part of the project manual as binding contract information.

constructors, general or trade contractors, systems/product manufacturers:

to guide or direct them in materially performing the work;
to inform them as required to facilitate their effective and efficient planning
and organization of workflow sequences as well as quality control methods
and procedures.

authorities having jurisdiction, including public utilities authorities:

to verify that the project conforms to existing regulations for the purpose of
issuing permits;
to plan and arrange for the provision of utilities and services.

architects, collaborating engineers and other various specialized professionals:

to exchange progress design information for the purposes of coordination
and harmonization of designs and graphic representations across all
disciplines;
to obtain cost information on planned building elements and materials;
to communicate project particulars to clients in order to obtain approval;
to prepare cost estimates;
as a control instrument to review the work on site and to determine general
conformity of construction work performed with design intents as expressed
in the construction contract documents.

clients:
to verify and confirm conformity to approved schematic design and to the
project’s specified requirements;
to form part of the tender documentation package;
to form part of the documents of the construction contract to be executed
with the contractor.

It is important for architects to also bear in mind the distinction that some make
between the scope and level of details required respectively for the purposes of
contractors establishing bids and for performing actual construction work. Theoretically,
the two contexts may have distinct requirements for what content is critical, in
accordance with differing forms of contracting and procurement. However, the reliance
on agreements based upon one form of procurement must be used with caution and
clarity – if the form of procurement changes from, say, a single known and selected
bidder to an open public tender, it may be that additional construction documentation is
required. The architect’s client-architect agreement should recognize this sort of
possibility by making provision for additional, paid services where the agreed
procurement mode changes.

Construction contracts normally include provisions allowing information supplements,

usually called site instructions or supplemental instructions, to be added to either tender
documents or contract documents.  These may be prepared and issued during
construction work and may include additional drawings or specifications, in the belief
that this additional information does not impact either contract price or time. Additional
drawings may also be needed to clarify information already provided in the construction
documents. Once distributed, these supplemental instructions and drawings generally
form an integral part of the set of construction contract documents, as if they had been
part of bid documents.

Construction Drawings Set General Outline

Depending on scope/complexity of project, architectural drawings may include:

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CAD Standards
CAD (computer-aided drawing) and building information modeling (BIM) have replaced
manual drafting as the primary method for producing construction drawings. Production
techniques may vary within the same office, depending on the human and physical
resources available and the nature of the project. Some clients require that drawings be
prepared using certain standards.

Standards define the size and style of fonts, dimensions, lines, and hatching or other
ways to represent materials. They also suggest various ways to create borders and title
blocks, standard details, symbols, etc.

It is especially important to establish a standard system for naming and giving attributes
to layers to facilitate the development of construction drawings and make them user-
friendly for consultants and others. Some clients will require electronic files of the
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construction drawings (or record drawings) for the future management of their building.
Therefore, architects must often use the client’s layering system or other drawing
standards.

Some institutions, such as Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and large
health and educational institutions, have created their own drawing standards. It is
important to obtain these standards at the start of the project.

It is important, at the start of the project, to establish protocols for the creation and
transfer of electronic information.

The Uniform Drawing System (UDS) is a guideline which includes the following modules:

Drawing Set Organization (numbering system and sequence for drawings, etc.);
Sheet Organization (system for numbering drawings, details and organizing
sheets);
Schedules (format, heading terminology, and organization);
Drafting Conventions;
Symbols;
Terms and Abbreviations;
Layers (see note re UDS below);
Notations.

The UDS has adopted the American Institute of Architect (AIA) CAD Layer Guidelines,
which were originally developed and published by the AIA.

Organization of Drawings
To produce working drawings, one must first create a list of information required,
including a preliminary list of drawings. Drawings and documents prepared during the
design development phase may be used to determine which construction details must
be drawn.

This list also enables the project architect to ascertain which elements require additional
research or information from the client or consultants. The format of all drawings,
including those of the engineers and consultants, should be consistent.

The graphic construction section discusses the graphic and presentation standards as
they apply to printed documents. These standards are usually embedded as default
parameters and setups within the configuration of the digital drafting tools. Default
setup parameters can be developed by architects as either ad-hoc in-house or
proprietary corporate configurations.

These rules and standards may also be governed by mandatory formatting practice
imposed by client organizations, as is common with some corporate real estate
organizations, public institutions such as universities or hospitals, governmental and
para-governmental agencies or Crown corporations. The applicable standards may be
developed by the client organization or defined by recognized standards organizations.
Such standards include the following elements.

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Scales
In the past, it was necessary to determine and decide on a scale for each construction
drawing.

Some current digital drawing and drafting tools work from actual dimensions, and scales
become an issue only with respect to plotting drawings on paper. Other tools do work
from scales defined on the digital drawings. For legibility, the scale at which drawings will
be plotted must be determined in accordance with sheet formats selected as well as
with graphic contents. The smallest scale in which information can be clearly presented
is chosen. Hard copies that are reduced for distribution must still be legible. Along with
the scale(s) used for all drawings, a graphic scale should be indicated on these
documents, although such indications are intended for convenience only because
dimensions obtained from scale measurements taken from drawings are typically
specified as non-binding for contractual purposes.

List of Drawings, Numbering and Sizes

Each sheet of the construction drawings must have a title and a number. The Uniform
Drawing System provides guidelines for a standard, yet flexible, system of title blocks
and sheet numbers.

The range of ISO formats may be used for the sizes of printed drawing sheets (see Table
1). This range offers the following features that are useful when drawings must be
reproduced on a larger or smaller scale:

the surface area of each format is twice that of the preceding format;
any two consecutive formats have the same height-to-width ratio (that is, the same
proportions).

TABLE 1 Sizes of Construction Drawings – ISO Format

TABLE 2 Sizes of Construction Drawings – Architectural Format

TABLE 3 Sizes of Construction Drawings – ANSI Format

For further information on drawing sheet formats and sizes, see:

for North American standards:

https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/North_American_Paper_Sizes;
for ISO standards: https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Paper_Sizes.

Clients may sometimes have their own templates for drawing sheet layouts and title
block for various sheet sizes, and many architectural practices have developed their own
specific preferences and designs.

Title Block

The title block may contain the following information:

project name and address/location;

project number;
date, including date of first issue and dates of all revisions;
purpose for issuing the drawing;
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drawing title;
drawing number;
scale;
details indicating revisions (such as revision number, date, general description,
initials of the originator);
name and contact information (in many provinces, the name of the holder of the
Certificate of Practice must appear);
name or initials of the draftsperson and the individual checking the drawing;
a location for applying the professional seal and signature (refer to the regulations
of the provincial associations of architects for regulations on applying the
professional seal. See also Appendix E, Chart F: Comparison of Provincial or
Territorial Requirements/Guidelines Regarding the Application of Seals in Chapter
1.6 – The Organization of the Profession in Canada).

Usually, the drawing (either in the title block or elsewhere) includes the following
information:

north arrow on plan views;

key plan, indicating the relationship of partial plans to the overall plan, orientation,
etc.;
the electronic file name;
dates and notations indicating the purpose for issuing the drawing (such as “Issued
for Bid” and “Not for Construction”);
notice of copyright.

See Appendix A of this chapter for more information on copyright.

See also Section 5.2 – “Drawing Notations” in Chapter 6.8 – Standard Forms for the
Management of the Project.

Depending on the type of project and the contractual arrangement with the consultants,
as well as the requirements of the professional liability insurer, the title block includes
the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address and fax numbers of engineers or
other consultants. Also, the architect must take care to conform to the requirements of
the provincial or territorial association.

Notes, Symbols and Dimensions

Notes, symbols, abbreviations, dimensions and references to other drawings should be

expressed in the same way on all the drawings, using recognized conventions.

Notes on the drawings should be kept to the minimum necessary to understand the
architect’s intentions. (References to standards and instructions about the execution of
the work should be included in the specifications, not on the drawings.) Standard
symbols should be used to show structural grids on the plans, as well as references to
elevations, sections, details and enlarged plans. References to sectional views, windows
and details are usually indicated on the elevations. References to details are usually
indicated on the cross sections and wall sections. As a general principle, notes and
dimensions should be placed in the most significant location in the documents and not
repeated elsewhere, in order to minimize opportunities for discrepancies or
contradictions appearing where information is redundant as provided on other drawings
or in written specifications.

If a material is identified on the drawings by a generally accepted symbol, a defined

symbol or a generic name, no further descriptive notes are necessary. Too many notes
obscure the drawings, increase search time to find information, and promote
inconsistency and duplication. Repetitive items such as doors, windows and interior
finishes should only provide a reference to identify the material or components.

Drawings identify a material or product only by a generic name, and illustrate its
approximate shape, dimensions and location.

Plans indicate the length and width of buildings as well as the width and thickness of
walls, whereas elevations and vertical sections indicate height. Drawings should include
all the plans, elevations, sections and project-specific design details necessary to fully
document the requirements of the work to be executed.
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Dimensions are part of the information about building elements or systems examined in
the course of the development of detailed design solutions. In the final issue of the
construction documents, only the information sufficient and necessary to instruct
contractors to properly position elements relative to each other and/or geodesic
reference points should appear in order to avoid possible confusion or conflicting data
in the drawing set, especially between large-scale and small-scale drawings.

The method of dimensioning should correspond to the sequence of construction,

starting from site survey reference points and lines. All dimensions should preferably be
indicated about a single reference point or line established by logical sequence of those
that get “built in” first. Where the critical criteria for the positioning of elements relative
to each other are not a fixed, linear value but rather conditioned by actual as-built
dimensions, such as, for example, even spacing or centering, this is the information that
must be conveyed by dimension lines rather than exact numerical values that are not in
themselves critical to materializing design intents.

If the total of a set of dimensions must add up to a given dimension, it may be necessary
to give an approximate value for one dimension or even to omit one of the less critical
dimensions.

See the “Checklist: Internal Review of Drawings” in Appendices F to I at the end of this
chapter for a detailed list of information that is recommended to be included on all plans
and drawings.

Coordination of Drawings

The project architect needs to be fully aware of the progress of the drawings. Therefore,
at intervals appropriate to the project’s complexity, the project architect may:

arrange internal and external coordination meetings;

review and revise drawings as they are being developed.

It is particularly important to plan regular meetings and to exchange information with

project engineers on an ongoing basis. The project architect usually notes and
documents the following:

decisions;
suggested changes;
new requirements from the design team.

Coordination of the drawings with specifications is also necessary. In particular, the

drawings and the specifications must use the same terminology for the same elements
to avoid ambiguity and, therefore, reduce the risk of disputes during the execution of
the work.

Client-supplied equipment must also be coordinated. Client changes to the program or

modifications to the layout can have far-reaching consequences at this stage and the
architect should be remunerated accordingly. If the architect is engaged to manage and
coordinate the consultants, then the project architect will arrange for each confirmed
change to be:

communicated to the various engineers and consultants;

integrated into the working drawings and other construction documents.

Checklists

Checklists outlining the scope and methodologies for planning, producing and
coordinating a complete set of construction documents are powerful tools.

Depending on the scale and complexity of the project, the architect may carry out the
following review procedures:

conduct interim and final reviews before completing the construction drawings,
addressing both form and substance qualitative issues;
in accordance with final design development sequence planning, conduct interim
and final reviews for technical feasibility in site and/or physical constructability of
details, assemblies and related site operations and construction methods. May

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require the collaboration of civil, structural, and mechanical engineers or other

specialists involved in the project;
ensure that the client reviews the drawings and specifications;
ask a senior architect in the practice who is not associated with the project to check
the drawings and specifications for:
consistency with client-approved design development stage documents;
errors and omissions;
compliance with graphic standards and for cross-referencing accuracy and
completeness;
require different individuals to conduct partial reviews (for example, dimensions,
details, notes and related specification sections);
check all dimensions twice;
where specifications are prepared by a specialist solely assigned to this task,
ensure that the specification writer conducts a final review of the construction
drawings.

Revisions to the Drawings

In practice, changes to certain design elements may be necessary as the construction

details are reviewed, developed and coordinated with the details and specifications of
engineers and other consultants.

To ensure proper coordination, the project architect may:

obtain information from the client about special technical needs related to the
project (for example, medical equipment);
inform the client about significant changes (and submit alternative solutions, if
possible and appropriate);
make the client aware of the importance of making decisions and giving approvals
quickly.

The engineers and other consultants should also be advised of any modifications or
design changes.

To identify revisions, changes to specific drawings or parts of larger drawings should be

graphically highlighted and the title block of each revision of the drawings should
indicate the date, the reason for the revision, and the nature of the changes. During the
preparation of drawings, sheets issued for coordination should have successive revisions
from successive issues clearly visible and recognizable as such (in a manner like the
redline method used for text) in order to facilitate the process. A copy of the final version
of each drawing showing the full history of progress revisions in the title block should be
conserved for reference purposes. The history of progress revisions should not be visible
to anyone other than the client and collaborating consultants, and should be removed
entirely from drawings issued as bid documents.

Drawings issued for construction should only show the history of revisions made by
addenda during the tender stage and after construction contract award.

Engineering Drawings
Structural Drawings

During the preliminary design phases of the project, the architect and the structural
engineer should have already determined the structural framing system. During the
construction documents phase, the structural engineer prepares:

detailed calculations of all structural elements;

plans and details;
structural sections of the specifications (usually Divisions 03, 05, and 06);
a final construction cost estimate of the structural components.

Mechanical and Electrical Drawings

Depending on the nature of the project, mechanical drawings are for the trades of
heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), plumbing and drainage, and specialty
trades (such as sprinklers and gas piping).
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The mechanical engineer usually prepares a separate set of drawings for each trade.

During the construction documents phase, the mechanical and electrical engineers
should prepare:

detailed calculations;
plans, details and schematic diagrams;
mechanical and electrical sections of the specifications (Divisions 21 to 29
inclusive);
a final construction cost estimate of the mechanical and electrical components.

Coordination of Engineering Drawings

If the architect is retained to manage and coordinate the project team, one of the
architect’s most important tasks during the production of the drawings is the
coordination of the engineering drawings (and drawings from other specialists).
Coordination is not to be confused with designing and documenting the technical
content contained in the engineering drawings, which is the responsibility of each
respective engineer. The architect will check that all relevant information is on the
appropriate drawing and that the design of one discipline includes the necessary work to
accommodate the work designed by another engineer. For example, problems due to
the interference of conflicting elements such as ductwork, light fixtures, piping and the
structural framing system must be resolved.

Sharing all necessary information with the engineering consultants as soon as it is

available helps to minimize coordination problems.

Regular coordination meetings or “interdisciplinary coordination reviews” are also

essential for ongoing information exchange and to collectively solve any coordination
issues. The earlier these meetings are held during the production of the drawings, the
easier it is for each professional to integrate ideas and revisions from other members of
the consulting team.

Any design changes, and the reason for the design changes, should be immediately
distributed to all engineers. Using a planned design development sequence checklist can
be helpful in highlighting what elements for which coordination are of critical
importance and at what stage in the progress of drawings for each discipline concerned.

Should the case arise that substantial changes to the design in one of the engineering
disciplines become necessary to adapt to architectural designs or designs from other
disciplines that are more critically important to the project, as the coordinating
professional, the architect must intervene to direct what revisions must be made in
which discipline to which design elements. When upon coordination, the architect
considers requesting revisions or substantive changes to an engineer’s or other
specialist consultant’s design, due consideration should be given, in consultation with
the involved professionals, to the following:

incidence on other consultants’ work;

impact on the client’s previously issued approvals of designs in all disciplines;
impact, if any, on the integrity of the client-approved and expected results
regarding the architectural concept and design;
impact, if any, on the construction documents stage schedule and/or costs of
services to the client;
potential impact on project objectives such as anticipated or planned construction
costs and/or schedules as well as expected or required construction quality and
construction trades market feasibility;
range and depth to which design alternatives should be examined by the
professionals concerned in collaboration with the architect as appropriate.

The importance of conscientiously timely and effective interdisciplinary coordination

throughout the construction documents stage cannot be overstated. Although the
sensitivity during the construction stage to effective coordination does vary considerably
depending on projects’ variations, such as nature and scope, the inherent level of
technical or programmatic complexity, and the conditions set by project delivery
methods and/or construction contract modalities, it remains that all project participants
can only benefit from coordination processes that minimize or suppress the
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opportunities for changes to the work arising from coordination lapses. This is especially
important as remedying them during the construction stage can be considerably more
costly in time and effort, and can create significantly increased contract costs and/or
schedule, and thus, exposure liability claims.

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