DESIGN OF AN ERGONOMICALLY-STRUCTURED DRAFTING TABLE BASED ON

TIPQC ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS’ ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA

Arch. Ma. Antonia Jennifer E. Nardo

Architecture/Drafting Technology Department

Abstract

The basic practice of Architecture is almost impossible without the use of drafting tables. It is
likewise observed that in all Institutions offering Architecture program, drafting tables are present and
prescribed to be able to supplement the students’ study of the program. Students and architects alike use
the drafting tables for their main academic activities, such as drafting and design. Although Computer-
Aided Drafting (CAD) has somehow broadened the drafting perspectives, manual drafting with the use of
conventional drafting tables could not be ruled-out.
At the Technological Institute of the Philippines, Quezon City (TIP QC), Architecture students
use drafting tables almost in the entirety of their study. An average of 60 subjects out of the
approximately 70 subjects in their curriculum, or 86% of their subjects, are conducted in studio or
drafting rooms where drafting tables are used in both lecture and drafting subjects. On the average, a
regular Architecture student is bound to use a drafting table in at least one subject a day. In short, he is
expected to use the drafting table everyday throughout his five-year study of Architecture.
Seeing it from this perspective, the significance of drafting tables to Architecture students is
undeniable or unquestionable. Drafting tables, although initially and specifically designed for drafting
subjects, are being utilized for lecture courses as well. Needless to say, a study of their design that
pertains to their major users was conducted, analyzed and should be implemented.
Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that a new design of an effective and
ergonomically-structured drafting table that will require minimal revisions or alterations of the current
design be adopted. The proposed design could also serve as a project development study that could be
developed from the results of this research.

Keywords: Computer-Aided Drafting; Design of an Ergonomically-Structured Drafting Table;

Anthropometric Data