1

CHAPTE R 1
Understanding Architectural Drawings
THE FOUNDATI ON OF ANY 3D vi sual i zati on i s the l i nework f ound i n i ts archi tectural drawi ngs. Just l i ke a
contractor needs drawi ngs to erect a bui l di ng, a 3D arti st needs drawi ngs to create a vi sual i zati on.
Understandi ng a set of archi tectural drawi ngs i s cri ti cal to ef f i ci ent and accurate work i n 3ds Max,
and wi thout knowi ng exactl y how drawi ngs are put together and what each component of a draw-
i ng i ndi cates, a 3D arti st i s l i kel y to spend a great deal of ti me tryi ng to make sense of the madness
that can be a set of archi tectural drawi ngs.
Today, nearl y al l bui l di ng proj ects uti l i ze CAD to create archi tectural drawi ngs, and more
speci f i cal l y, AutoCAD. However, many vi sual i zati on proj ects begi n l ong bef ore the f i nal constructi on
drawi ngs are generated. Constructi on drawi ngs are the f i nal set of drawi ngs submi tted to a ci ty or
county bui l di ng department and suppl i ed to contractors that i ntend to bi d on the proj ect. These
f i nal drawi ngs of ten l ead to addendums and on-si te adj ustments, but constructi on drawi ngs wi l l
al ways have a certai n acceptabl e l evel of qual i ty and engi neeri ng. The same cannot be sai d f or the
drawi ngs that those of us i n the 3D worl d are of ten f orced to work wi th. Si nce our work of ten begi ns
at the desi gn devel opment stage or bef ore f i nal constructi on drawi ngs are generated, we of ten
f ace the chal l enge of worki ng wi th i ncompl ete drawi ngs contai ni ng numerous errors or conf l i cti ng
data. Whatever the case maybe, archi tectural drawi ngs can be a di f f i cul t thi ng f or many 3ds Max
users to grasp, especi al l y f or those that haven t had the benef i t of worki ng as an archi tect, engi -
neer, or draf tsman.
I deci ded to make the f i rst f ew chapters i n thi s book a di scussi on on archi tectural drawi ngs and
AutoCAD because many i ntermedi ate l evel users i n 3ds Max do not have a sol i d background i n
archi tecture or even a f undamental l evel of knowl edge on AutoCAD, yet both of these areas are so
cri ti cal to our work. Not bei ng abl e to create a roof pl an, i nterpret a door schedul e, or how to recog-
ni ze the di f f erence between a bl ock and an xref i n AutoCAD are j ust a f ew exampl es of the
countl ess di f f i cul ti es many tal ented 3ds Max users f ace when worki ng i n the vi sual i zati on i ndustry.
Many students f i nd l earni ng 3ds Max qui te si mpl e compared to the di f f i cul ti es of l earni ng the f unda-
mental s of archi tecture, and of course, many tal ented 3ds Max users f rom other i ndustri es have
mi grated to the vi sual i zati on i ndustry i n recent years. There i s very l i ttl e documentati on to gui de
users i n thei r progressi on and so these chapters are an attempt to hel p 3ds Max users understand
the very i mportant stage of worki ng wi th archi tectural drawi ngs. As menti oned i n the i ntroducti on
of thi s book, much of what i s di scussed about the archi tectural i ndustry i n thi s book can be appl i ed
to the bui l di ng i ndustry as a whol e, i ncl udi ng other sectors such as ci vi l engi neeri ng, structural
engi neeri ng, and l andscape archi tecture.
The Architectural Design Process
Archi tectural drawi ngs undergo a l ong and of ten tumul tuous j ourney bef ore l andi ng i n the hands of
a contractor who wants to bi d on the proj ect. Whi l e no two proj ects f ol l ow i denti cal paths duri ng
thi s j ourney, there are common phases that most proj ects go through as wel l as common road-
bl ocks and obstacl es that most proj ects wi l l encounter. Thi s secti on ai ms to i l l ustrate the evol uti on
of archi tectural drawi ngs f rom the ti me a proj ect i s concei ved up to the poi nt where the drawi ngs
are government approved and ready f or use.
Al l proj ects start wi th an owner who approaches an archi tectural f i rm wi th a concept i n mi nd.
The archi tects pri mary j ob i s to take the owners concept and desi gn a structure wi th al l the appro-
pri ate engi neeri ng i n pl ace to sati sf y l ocal , state, and f ederal gui del i nes. When a desi gn i s compl ete,
archi tects then submi t a set of constructi on drawi ngs to l ocal bui l di ng departments f or revi ew and
approval . Fi gure 1 -1 shows an exampl e of a compl ete set of constructi on drawi ngs f or a commerci al
bui l di ng. Once approved and once a contractor has been sel ected, the proj ect can proceed wi th
constructi on under the caref ul watch of the archi tect who makes sure that the constructi on con-
f orms to the gui del i nes speci f i ed i n the archi tectural drawi ngs. That i s, i n a nutshel l , the process of
archi tectural desi gn. Needl ess to say, the actual process i nvol ves a l i ttl e more work, and the f ol l ow-
i ng secti ons bri ef l y i l l ustrate some of the most i mportant detai l s of thi s process. By knowi ng the
basi cs of the archi tectural desi gn process, you wi l l be much better prepared f or the 3D desi gn
process and many of the obstacl es and pi tf al l s that can hamper your workf l ow.
Fi gure 1-1. An exampl e of a set of constructi on drawi ngs
1 - 2 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
When a 3D arti st recei ves a proj ect f rom an archi tect or an owner, i t i s absol utel y cri ti cal f or
the arti st to know exactl y what phase an archi tectural proj ect i s i n. Wi thout knowi ng the phase, the
arti st has l i ttl e chance of knowi ng j ust how l i kel y a desi gn i s to change. Cl i ents of ten l eave out thi s
very i mportant pi ece of i nf ormati on, and when asked di rectl y, some cl i ents may not al ways provi de
a compl ete answer. I f you at l east know what phase a proj ect i s i n, and understand what each phase
entai l s, then you at l east have a good understandi ng of how l i kel y you are to see changes comi ng. I f
you don t i ron out the speci f i cs of how changes wi l l be bi l l ed i n your contract, then i ts onl y a matter
of ti me bef ore you run i nto a di f f i cul t si tuati on. Fortunatel y, the sampl e contract provi ded wi th thi s
book provi des the necessary protecti on agai nst proj ect changes. Feel f ree to adopt the wordi ng i n
thi s contract as your own.
Accordi ng to AI A, the Ameri can I nsti tute of Archi tects, there are f i ve maj or phases of the archi -
tectural desi gn process. They are as f ol l ows:
Schemati c Desi gn (SD)
Desi gn Devel opment (DD)
Constructi on Drawi ngs or Constructi on Documents (CD)
Bi ddi ng and Contract Negoti ati on (BI D)
Constructi on Admi ni strati on (CA)
Schematic Design
The f i rst phase of archi tectural desi gn i s the Schematic Design phase, or SD f or short. The pri mary
obj ecti ve of thi s phase i s to devel op a cl earl y def i ned, f easi bl e concept and to present i t i n a f orm
that the cl i ent can understand and accept. Secondary obj ecti ves i ncl ude cl ari f i cati on of the pro-
j ects program, expl orati on of al ternati ve desi gns, and esti mati ons of constructi on costs.
Duri ng thi s phase, an archi tect works cl osel y wi th the cl i ent to determi ne the appropri ate
program, or set of needs that a bui l di ng must f ul f i l l . The program i ncl udes the proj ects f uncti ons,
goal s, desi gn expectati ons, budget, and si te requi rements (such as bui l di ng code, zoni ng, and
accessi bi l i ty i ssues). Prel i mi nary constructi on costs are al so esti mated duri ng thi s phase so that
the cl i ent can know as earl y as possi bl e i f the proj ect i s f easi bl e f rom a f i nanci al standpoi nt.
I n the f i rst part of the SD phase, the archi tect researches the proj ect to determi ne what i ts cur-
rent probl ems are and what ki nd of probl ems mi ght devel op i n the f uture. Once a program has been
establ i shed through thi s research, the archi tects f ocus shi f ts f rom f i guri ng out what the probl ems
are to how the probl ems can be sol ved. I n the course of sol vi ng a proj ects probl ems and f ul f i l l i ng a
proj ects need, a more practi cal schemati c desi gn i s born. Archi tects of ten provi de mul ti pl e ver-
si ons of a desi gn that ref l ect di f f erent opti ons that the cl i ent may or may not be wi l l i ng to pay f or,
based on prel i mi nary cost esti mates. Mi nor detai l s are i gnored i n the SD phase, and i nstead, the
archi tect f ocuses on the overal l bi g pi cture, maki ng sure that no maj or probl ems exi st i n the pro-
j ects desi gn bef ore conti nui ng wi th work i n the next phase.
Duri ng SD, archi tects usual l y provi de thei r cl i ents wi th concept sketches, ei ther by hand or
CAD, as wel l as f easi bi l i ty studi es based on si te and bui l di ng code restri cti ons. I t i s qui te rare f or an
archi tect or owner to request 3D work at thi s earl y i n the archi tectural desi gn process, si mpl y
because the archi tect can very qui ckl y hand-draw l ow detai l 3D perspecti ve renderi ngs that woul d
sati sf y the cl i ents need f or vi sual representati on. Even i f archi tects sub 3D work out to an outsi de
source and 3D work i s desi red duri ng the SD phase, many archi tects can sti l l produce thi s type of
l ow qual i ty mass model i ng 3D work i n house at thi s poi nt.
I n recent years, ci ty and county of f i ci al s throughout the U. S. (and I presume other countri es)
have pl aced a greater emphasi s on the need f or archi tects to provi de more accurate i l l ustrati ons of
1 - 3 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
thei r desi gns as earl y as possi bl e, so that of f i ci al s can provi de the archi tects wi th prel i mi nary
approval or deni al of a desi gn and prevent unnecessary work on a proj ect that has no hope of bei ng
approved i n i ts current desi gn. These prel i mi nary i l l ustrati ons usual l y i ncl ude such detai l s as l and-
scapi ng because of i ts i mpact on the overal l l ook of a proj ect. Regardl ess, f ew 3D f i rms are uti l i zed
i n the SD phase f or the reasons j ust menti oned. I f approached by an archi tectural f i rm, 3D arti sts
must understand exactl y what the cl i ent wants and be caref ul not to waste ti me on detai l s that the
cl i ent does not need.
The typi cal documentati on devel oped by the end of the SD phase i ncl ude:
A si te pl an
Al l f l oor pl ans
Al l exteri or el evati ons
Bui l di ng secti ons of cri ti cal areas
Landscape pl ans
Prel i mi nary constructi on cost esti mate
Hand or CAD renderi ngs
The f i nal step i n the SD phase, or any phase f or that matter, i s to obtai n f ormal cl i ent approval
of the provi ded documents. Once an archi tect recei ves approval , the next phase of the desi gn
process can begi n.
I f a cl i ent approaches you wi th a request f or 3D servi ces on a proj ect i n the schemati c desi gn
phase, you shoul d make absol utel y certai n that both of you come to a cl ear understandi ng about
the l evel of detai l to be provi ded and the cost of maki ng 3D changes duri ng l ater phases.
Design Development
The second phase of the archi tectural desi gn process i s Design Development, or DD f or short. Duri ng
thi s phase, the desi gn i s ref i ned i nto a cl ear, coordi nated set of drawi ngs coveri ng al l aspects of the
desi gn. Thi s set of drawi ngs typi cal l y i ncl udes f ul l y devel oped f l oor pl ans, exteri or el evati ons, bui l d-
i ng secti ons, and a f ul l y devel oped si te pl an. For cri ti cal areas of a proj ect, archi tects may choose to
devel op i nteri or el evati ons, ref l ected cei l i ng pl ans, roof pl ans, wal l secti ons, and detai l s. These
drawi ngs may or may not i ncl ude di mensi ons and notes, and even when they do, they typi cal l y see
a great detai l of ref i nement unti l the poi nt at whi ch the drawi ngs are submi tted to the bui l di ng
department f or approval . The drawi ngs produced duri ng DD become the basi s f or the constructi on
drawi ngs submi tted f or government approval .
I n the SD phase, most of the work i s perf ormed by the archi tect(s) because al most al l of the
work i s desi gn ori ented and above the normal qual i f i cati ons of a draf tsman. Duri ng the DD phase,
however, the work i s f ai rl y evenl y spl i t between the archi tect(s) and draf tsman. At the begi nni ng of
the DD phase, an archi tect wi l l create whats known as a cartoon set of drawi ngs, whi ch i s usual l y
nothi ng more than a set of hand-drawn l etter si ze sheets of paper wi th a tentati ve l ayout of the f ul l
worki ng set of constructi on drawi ngs, as shown i n Fi gure 1 -2. Once that cartoon set i s created, the
draf ter wi l l spend a great deal of ti me setti ng up the DD drawi ngs per the cartoon set and addi ng al l
of the generi c i nf ormati on requi red, such as di mensi ons, scal es, sheet ti tl es, and bui l di ng/wal l sec-
ti on cal l outs.
1 - 4 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-2. An exampl e of a cartoon set drawi ng
I n the SD phase, archi tects do not al ways uti l i ze the servi ces of engi neers because at such an
earl y stage i n the desi gn, an archi tect i s usual l y more than capabl e of determi ni ng the f easi bi l i ty of
the overal l desi gn. For exampl e, i f the desi gn cal l s f or a 1 00-f oot roof span wi thout any supporti ng
col umns i n pl ace, the archi tect may not know what the i deal beams to use are, but woul d know
enough to know that a suf f i ci ent and af f ordabl e type of beam can be uti l i zed to al l ow f or the desi gn
to progress. Once the DD phase begi ns, numerous engi neers are usual l y needed f or al l but the
smal l est and si mpl est of proj ects. Even though archi tects are experts i n the desi gn of bui l di ngs,
wi th the excepti on of these si mpl i sti c proj ects, they are usual l y not l egal l y permi tted to si gn and
seal a set of archi tectural drawi ngs wi thout the subsequent si gnature and seal of the appropri ate
subcontractors. These subcontractors usual l y i ncl ude ci vi l , structural , mechani cal , pl umbi ng, el ec-
tri cal engi neers, as wel l as l andscape archi tects. Dependi ng on the type of proj ect bei ng bui l t and
i ts l ocati on, a proj ect may requi re a certi f i ed approval f rom one or more of these subcontractors.
When archi tects or engi neers certi f y a set of drawi ngs, they stamp or press thei r seal i nto each
drawi ng and si gn on top of that seal , as shown i n Fi gure 1 -3.
1 - 5 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-3. An exampl e of a si gned and seal ed drawi ng
Duri ng the DD phase, archi tects usual l y provi de these subcontractors wi th CAD f i l es i n thei r
most up-to-date f orm, and then based on these CAD drawi ngs, the vari ous subcontractors devel op
an accurate desi gn f or thei r speci f i c areas of responsi bi l i ty and provi de the archi tect wi th enough
gui dance to proceed wi th constructi on drawi ngs. Bef ore devel opi ng constructi on drawi ngs, the
archi tect must ensure that no maj or desi gn f l aws or i ssues exi st that coul d l ead to a redesi gn.
For many archi tectural f i rms, the typi cal documentati on devel oped by the end of the DD phase
can appear very si mi l ar to the f i nal constructi on drawi ngs, al though the DD drawi ngs wi l l typi cal l y
not contai n as many detai l s, di mensi ons, and notes. Unl i ke the SD drawi ngs, the DD drawi ngs wi l l
al so i ncl ude i ni ti al materi al and col or sel ecti ons, sel ecti ons f or engi neeri ng systems (such as spri n-
kl er systems), and prel i mi nary engi neeri ng drawi ngs wi th al l the i nf ormati on the archi tect needs to
move i nto the constructi on drawi ngs phase. For exampl e, structural engi neers wi l l i ncl ude on thei r
versi on of the f l oor pl ans, the si zes of al l beams needed to support the f l oors or cei l i ng above. Wi th-
out thi s i nf ormati on, the archi tect can not f i nal i ze the si zi ng of the wal l components surroundi ng the
beams or the space between wal l s contai ni ng those beams.
Just l i ke i n the previ ous phase, the f i nal step i n the DD phase i s to obtai n f ormal cl i ent approval
of the provi ded documents. Once an archi tect recei ves approval , the next phase of the desi gn
process can begi n.
Begi nni ng a 3D proj ect i n the desi gn devel opment stage can be qui te ri sky even more so
than i n the schemati c desi gn phase. I n the SD phase, theres usual l y no doubt on anyones behal f
that the proj ect i s goi ng to undergo numerous and maj or desi gn changes and that conti nui ng 3D
work i nto f uture phases can easi l y requi re starti ng over f rom scratch. I n the DD phase, however,
there i s usual l y suf f i ci ent detai l provi ded to al l ow f or a compl ete vi sual i zati on, and cl i ents of ten
don t understand how even smal l changes i n a bui l di ng or si te desi gn can l ead to enormous
amounts of work, or i n many cases, starti ng over f rom scratch. Furthermore, the number of hours
needed to achi eve the l evel of detai l shown i n the DD drawi ngs i s al ways goi ng to be f ar greater,
1 - 6 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
whi ch means that starti ng over f rom scratch wi l l requi re f ar more work. I f a cl i ent approaches you
wi th a request f or 3D servi ces on a proj ect i n the desi gn devel opment phase, you shoul d make
absol utel y certai n that the cl i ent knows the costs and i mpl i cati ons of maki ng changes to the 3D
vi sual i zati on whi ch are certai n to come i n the desi gn devel opment or constructi on drawi ngs phase.
Dependi ng on what the vi sual i zati on i s to be used f or, the cl i ent may el ect to use the vi sual i zati on
provi ded i n the DD phase, rather than payi ng f or changes made i n the constructi on drawi ngs phase.
I f the vi sual i zati on i s to be used f or marketi ng purposes, then a DD vi sual i zati on wi l l of ten suf f i ce.
However, i f the cl i ent needs to present the f i nal bui l di ng desi gn to the ci ty or county f or i ts approval ,
the vi sual i zati on wi l l usual l y need to be a hi ghl y accurate ref l ecti on of the f i nal desi gn.
Construction Drawings
The thi rd phase of the archi tectural desi gn process i s the Construction Drawings phase, or CD f or
short. Thi s phase i s of ten ref erred to as the Constructi on Documents phase, but f or the purpose of
thi s book, I wi l l usual l y ref er to thi s phase as Constructi on Drawi ngs. Duri ng thi s phase, addi ti onal
desi gn i ssues emerge and the archi tectural team works to address these i ssues. Just l i ke wi th the
previ ous two phases, there are numerous reasons why a proj ect may undergo si gni f i cant desi gn
changes duri ng the constructi on drawi ng phase. These can i ncl ude ci ty or county of f i ci al s denyi ng
certai n aspects of a proj ects desi gn, the real i zati on that the cost of constructi on was underesti -
mated, a l ack of f undi ng f or the desi gn as i t currentl y stands, and the cl i ent si mpl y deci di ng that he
doesn t l i ke the desi gn any more. I t i s of ten thi s l ast exampl e that best i l l ustrates how the desi gn
process never real l y stops but rather conti nues through constructi on and the everyday use of the
bui l di ngs and f aci l i ti es devel oped.
Constructi on drawi ngs (CDs) must i ncl ude al l detai l s requi red per ci ty, county, and f ederal
gui del i nes. Every aspect of how a proj ect i s to be put together must be i ncl uded i n the CDs. These
are the documents to whi ch the archi tect, owner, and/or government of f i ci al s wi l l hol d the contrac-
tor responsi bl e. Li kewi se, these are the documents that contractors use to determi ne constructi on
cost, so the i mportance of these documents bei ng accurate can not be underesti mated. Thi s does
not mean that changes to desi gns can not occur af ter CDs are submi tted. I f changes are requi red,
addendums are si mpl y added to the CDs and those addendums are submi tted to the bui l di ng
department f or approval . I n most cases, changes at thi s poi nt are usual l y qui ck to f i x, even when
the scope of the change i s l arge. For exampl e, even wi th somethi ng as si gni f i cant as a roof chang-
i ng f rom concrete ti l e to shi ngl e, a f ew smal l changes to the notes f ound on the el evati ons and
secti ons wi l l usual l y suf f i ce.
I t i s extremel y i mportant to remember however, that some desi gn changes that appear at f i rst
to be si mpl e, can i n f act take much l onger to correct than the exampl e of the roof. I n the rush to
meet deadl i nes, draf ters or archi tects of ten deci de to cut corners and a perf ect exampl e of a
change that can take an enormous amount of ti me to make properl y, and one that i s of ten cor-
rected wi th a qui ck f i x i nstead, i s a change to the l ength of a wal l . I f, f or whatever reason, an
archi tect or draf ter has to change the l ength of a wal l by even a f ew i nches, that change mi ght be
seen on every maj or drawi ng to i ncl ude one or more f l oor pl ans, i nteri or and exteri or el evati ons,
secti ons, the f oundati on pl an, and so on. The qui ck f i x woul d be to si mpl y change the di mensi on on
the f l oor pl an wi thout actual l y changi ng the l i nework that the di mensi on annotates. For smal l
changes i n l ength, thi s mi ght not be a bi g deal , especi al l y si nce contractors are requi red to bui l d
per the di mensi ons anyway and other drawi ngs l i ke el evati ons are supposed to be f or ref erence
onl y. However, i f the change to the l ength of the wal l i s a l i ttl e more substanti al , then even an expe-
ri enced 3D arti st i s l i kel y to not know that the l i nework i s erroneous and the resul ti ng 3D model s
mi ght be i nadequate.
1 - 7 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Bidding and Contract Negotiation
The next phase i n the archi tectural desi gn process i s Bidding and Contract Negotiation, or BID f or short.
When an archi tect submi ts a set of constructi on drawi ngs to the bui l di ng department, hi s work i s
usual l y f ar f rom over. Al though contractors are of ten pre-sel ected bef ore a proj ect even begi ns,
most constructi on proj ects go through a bi ddi ng process, whereby the archi tect wi l l serve as the
manager of the bi ddi ng. When contractors are i nvi ted to bi d on a proj ect, they pi ck up a set of CDs
and any addendums that may have devel oped, they study the proj ect cl osel y to determi ne thei r
cost of constructi on, and they pl ace a bi d on the proj ect. Someti mes the proj ect owner l ooks onl y
f or the l owest bi dder, but i n many cases bei ng the l owest bi dder doesn t ensure wi nni ng the proj -
ect. I f an owner has a pref erence towards one f i rm and the bi ds are cl ose enough, the l owest bi dder
mi ght not wi n the proj ect.
Construction Adminstration
The l ast phase i n the archi tectural desi gn process i s Construction Adminstration, or CA f or short.
Between the ti me CDs are submi tted to the bui l di ng department and the proj ect i s f ul l y con-
structed, numerous changes can be made to the desi gn. As an exampl e, many ci ti es and counti es
have a certai n mi ni mum type of l andscapi ng that must be provi ded f or a proj ect. Landscape archi -
tects wi l l of ten create l andscape drawi ngs that sati sf y mi ni mum l andscapi ng code, but when i t
comes ti me to actual l y pl ant that vegetati on, the l andscape archi tect may, at the request of the
owner, compl etel y change the l andscapi ng. There are numerous reasons f or thi s, such as the
owner not wanti ng to deci de unti l the l ast possi bl e moment how much money he wants to spend,
how much he can spend, or the owner si mpl y not knowi ng what he woul d l i ke to see pl anted unti l he
sees the proj ect neari ng compl eti on. As a 3D arti st, i t i s very i mportant to understand how con-
crete a proj ects l andscapi ng drawi ngs are, and what the cl i ent wants. Even though l andscapi ng i s
usual l y not the f ocus of a proj ect, i t i s nonethel ess a cri ti cal component of a real i sti c 3D scene. The
real l andscapi ng that an archi tect or owner has i n mi nd or the real l andscapi ng that actual l y gets
pl anted on si te i s of ten so drasti cal l y di f f erent f rom the ori gi nal l andscape drawi ngs, i f one creates
a 3D scene usi ng these ori gi nal l andscape drawi ngs wi thout the cl i ents express consent, probl ems
are bound to ari se. Many cl i ents are not experi enced enough wi th 3D to know to vol unteer thi s type
of i nf ormati on. Theref ore, you shoul d al ways get cl ari f i cati on on such detai l s.
Another exampl e of a change that i s of ten made af ter CDs are submi tted and one that can
greatl y af f ect the progress of a 3D vi sual i zati on i s the changi ng of a bui l di ngs col ors. Archi tects or
owners of ten change thei r mi nds at the very l ast mi nute af ter havi ng the opportuni ty to test real
col or sampl es on a bui l di ng as i t nears compl eti on. Fi gure 1 -4 shows a commerci al devel opment
neari ng compl eti on and a newl y devel oped pai nt scheme bei ng tested wi th the benef i t of real worl d
condi ti ons. The pai nt col ors bei ng tested are rel ati vel y unorthodox f or the l ocati on and wi thout the
abi l i ty to appl y actual pai nt sampl es l i ke thi s, an archi tect or owner i s of ten unsure about the sel ec-
ti on. By uti l i zi ng the servi ces of a 3D vi sual i zati on company, cl i ents can of ten i denti f y poor col or
schemes bef ore i ts too l ate and so i t i s because of our work that cl i ents of ten change desi gn char-
acteri sti cs l i ke thi s at the l ast mi nute. Duri ng the desi gn devel opment phase of the proj ect shown i n
Fi gure 1 -4, an i ni ti al col or scheme was submi tted by the archi tect and approved by the ci ty pl anni ng
board, but i t was not unti l the bui l di ng was al most compl etel y f i ni shed that the archi tect and owner
determi ned that the chosen col or scheme was not appropri ate. As al ways, you shoul d try to deter-
mi ne as earl y as possi bl e how much somethi ng l i ke a col or scheme i s l i kel y to change, and you
shoul d ref l ect the consequences of such changes i n the proj ects contract.
1 - 8 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-4. A pai nt scheme created af ter CD submi ssi on
One of the bi ggest responsi bi l i ti es an archi tect has f or most proj ects i s moni tori ng the
progress of a bui l di ng duri ng i ts constructi on, hence the true meani ng behi nd the term Constructi on
Admi ni strati on. Throughout the enti re constructi on process, there wi l l al ways be questi ons or prob-
l ems that ari se whi ch requi re the archi tects attenti on. Besi des havi ng to deal wi th these questi ons,
archi tects are pai d to ensure that the proj ect i s bei ng bui l t accordi ng to the pl an. Archi tects make
si te vi si ts to observe the progress and qual i ty of constructi on and noti f y the owner when probl ems
ari se.
When a proj ect i s compl ete to the sati sf acti on of the archi tect, the archi tect wi l l i ssue a certi f i -
cate of substanti al compl eti on Certificate of Substantial Completion and at that poi nt, the archi tects
responsi bi l i ty i s usual l y over.
The Anatomy of Architectural Drawings
I f you have never worked i n an archi tectural of f i ce bef ore or never had f ormal trai ni ng i n the archi -
tectural f i el d, then a f ul l set of archi tectural drawi ngs can be qui te an i nti mi dati ng si ght. Even f or
smal l proj ects a f ul l set can easi l y contai n over 1 00 i ndi vi dual sheets. For a very l arge proj ect, sev-
eral hundreds are not unusual . The drawi ngs shown earl i er i n Fi gure 1 -1 were over 1 20 sheets i n al l
and that was f or a rel ati vel y smal l bui l di ng. The i mage i n Fi gure 1 -5 shows an exampl e of Specifica-
tions that of ten accompani es a set of constructi on drawi ngs. Speci f i cati ons cl ari f y i n words many of
the i mportant detai l s shown i n the archi tectural drawi ngs. As you can see f rom the i mage on the
cover, the bui l di ng i s qui te smal l , yet the speci f i cati ons f or thi s bui l di ng are over 200 pages i n
l ength.
1 - 9 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-5. A typi cal set of speci f i cati ons f or an archi tectural proj ect
Recei vi ng thi s much i nf ormati on to deci pher at the begi nni ng of a vi sual i zati on proj ect can be
extremel y di f f i cul t. Unf ortunatel y, the f l i p si de i sn t much better. Recei vi ng too l i ttl e i nf ormati on usu-
al l y l eads to even more probl ems. Fortunatel y, f or the maj ori ty of what we do, we onl y need to rel y
on a f ew cri ti cal drawi ngs to do our work.
As I menti on several ti mes throughout thi s book, you shoul d never pri ce a j ob wi thout seei ng
the archi tectural drawi ngs that you wi l l have to work wi th. At the very l east, you shoul d pri ce very
conservati vel y to account f or the numerous di f f erent ways that poor drawi ngs and mi ssi ng i nf orma-
ti on can hi nder your work. Thi s i s di scussed more i n l ater chapters. But unl i ke a contractor who
needs every drawi ng to know exactl y how to put the proj ect together i nsi de and out, a 3D arti st
onl y needs to f ocus on the drawi ngs that depi ct the physi cal structures that wi l l actual l y be seen.
Thi s usual l y means that the drawi ngs most cri ti cal to a vi sual i zati on are as f ol l ows:
El evati ons
Fl oor pl ans
Secti ons
Si te pl ans
Landscape pl ans
Roof pl ans
Ref l ected cei l i ng pl ans
Of course i n a perf ect worl d, you woul d recei ve al l of these drawi ngs i n compl ete CD f orm, but
as i s of ten the case, much of thi s i nf ormati on wi l l ei ther be l acki ng or i ncompl ete. Notwi thstandi ng
the precauti ons menti oned earl i er about begi nni ng a proj ect bef ore recei vi ng al l the necessary
1 - 1 0 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
i nf ormati on, once the necessary drawi ngs are recei ved and you deci de to begi n your work, the f i rst
step i n the 3D creati on process i s the preparati on of AutoCAD l i nework f or i mportati on i nto 3ds
Max. Obvi ousl y many 3ds Max users choose to model i n other programs l i ke Archi tectural Desktop
and Revi t, i n whi ch case prepari ng thi s l i nework i s not real l y a necessary step. I f you do choose to
model i n other programs, I hi ghl y recommend to at l east expl ore the benef i ts of model i ng sol el y i n
3ds Max. Regardl ess, the f i rst step i n the 3D creati on process i s prepari ng the AutoCAD l i nework.
But bef ore begi nni ng a di scussi on on thi s subj ect, I want to del ve i nto an i n-depth di scussi on on the
vari ous drawi ng types 3D users typi cal l y work wi th duri ng a vi sual i zati on proj ect. The remai nder of
thi s chapter l ooks cl osel y at how archi tects and draf ters put each of the cri ti cal drawi ngs together
so that you can better understand what you re l ooki ng at when i nsi de one of these drawi ngs and
better understand how to handl e the l i nework. I n Chapter 2, we wi l l expl ore the basi cs of AutoCAD
f or those that have l i ttl e or no experi ence i n the program so that they may become f ami l i ar enough
wi th the program to f ol l ow the procedures and techni ques outl i ned i n many of the remai ni ng chap-
ters. However, the f ocus of Chapter 2 i s prepari ng AutoCAD l i nework f or i mportati on i n 3ds Max and
thi s subj ect wi l l be covered thoroughl y i n Chapter 2 as wel l as many of the tutori al s throughout thi s
book.
Every archi tecture and engi neeri ng f i rm has thei r own standards f or creati ng drawi ngs and
worki ng wi th so many di f f erent standards can be di f f i cul t and ti me consumi ng f or even experi enced
arti sts. Whats more i s that even when f i rms create thei r own standards, they don t al ways f ol l ow
them. I f you assume the worse when you recei ve drawi ngs, then you wi l l probabl y be more l i kel y to
f i nd any probl ems and i nconsi stenci es that exi st.
Most of what i s di scussed i n the remai nder of thi s chapter deal s wi th probl ems you mi ght run
i nto when worki ng wi th archi tectural drawi ngs and thi ngs that you shoul d al ways be on the l ookout
f or. Havi ng spent several years as a draf ter i n archi tectural f i rms, I am aware of the numerous chal -
l enges that draf ters and archi tects f ace when tryi ng to get a set of drawi ngs out the door. These
chal l enges, i f not deal t wi th properl y i n the archi tectural of f i ce, tend to mi grate over to the desk of
the 3D arti st tryi ng to make sense of what i s someti mes an apparent mess of l i nework. So i n the
remai nder of thi s chapter, I wi l l attempt to make understandi ng archi tectural drawi ngs a l i ttl e easi er
f or the l ess experi enced 3ds Max user.
Sheet layout
Bef ore di scussi ng each of the i mportant drawi ng types, I want to make a qui ck menti on about the
paper archi tectural drawi ngs are pri nted on and the way sheets are ordered.
An i ndi vi dual pi ece of paper on whi ch an archi tectural drawi ng i s pri nted i s usual l y ref erred to
as a sheet. I n the U. S. , there are 5 standard si zes used f or the vast maj ori ty of al l sheets pri nted i n
archi tecture. They are as f ol l ows:
ARCH A 9x1 2
ARCH B 1 2x1 8
ARCH C 1 8x24
ARCH D 24x36
ARCH E 36x48
As you can see f rom the di mensi ons shown, each l arger drawi ng i s exactl y twi ce the si ze of
the previ ous drawi ng. Si zes A, B, and C are usual l y reserved f or addendums, f or showi ng smal l
areas of a proj ect, or f or showi ng l arge areas at a smal l scal e. Very l arge proj ects of ten make use
of the E si ze drawi ngs, but the most commonl y used drawi ng si ze i s the D si ze drawi ng.
1 - 1 1 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
For al l but very smal l proj ects, a set of constructi on drawi ngs wi l l contai n drawi ngs grouped
together i n di f f erent secti ons. The drawi ngs an archi tect creates i n-house wi l l be together i n one
area of the set (usual l y towards the very top of the set), the structural engi neeri ng drawi ngs wi l l be
grouped together i n another area, and the el ectri cal , mechani cal , l andscape drawi ngs, etc. wi l l be
group together as wel l , as shown i n Fi gure 1 -6.
Fi gure 1-6. The ti tl e sheet of a set of constructi on drawi ngs
Much of the i nf ormati on presented i n the archi tectural drawi ngs si mpl y rei terates what i s di s-
cussed i n other drawi ngs and many ti mes the archi tect wi l l si mpl y make annotati ons on a drawi ng
tel l i ng the reader to ref er to another drawi ng. For exampl e, i f an archi tect deci des that a col umn
shoul d go i n a certai n l ocati on, he i s usual l y not al l owed by l aw to sel ect a col umn wi thout the
approval of a structural engi neer. Not knowi ng what col umn type or si ze the engi neer wi l l ul ti matel y
deci de to use, and not wanti ng to worry about updati ng hi s pl ans i f the engi neer deci des to change
the structural drawi ngs, the archi tect wi l l of ten j ust pl ace a note on hi s f l oor pl an that reads some-
thi ng l i ke, Col umn See Structural Drawi ngs. The archi tect sti l l needs to show a col umn on hi s
f l oor pl an and f oundati on pl an, but he i s not requi red to speci f y any perti nent i nf ormati on about i t.
Understandi ng thi s rel ati onshi p between the archi tect and al l of the subcontractors that work f or
hi m, makes readi ng a set of archi tectural drawi ngs a l ot easi er.
Elevations
El evati ons provi de vi ewers a better understandi ng of the scope and compl exi ty of a proj ect than
any other drawi ng type. I f thi s weren t true, then you woul dn t see el evati ons si tti ng i n f ront of a
proj ect si ght, as shown i n Fi gure 1 -7; you woul d see other drawi ng types, such as f l oor pl ans or sec-
ti ons. Al though I al ways recommend revi ewi ng al l the i mportant CAD drawi ngs f i rsthand bef ore
quoti ng a proj ect, i t i s not di f f i cul t to esti mate a proj ect based on what i s vi si bl e i n the el evati ons
al one. An el evati on i s one of the 1
st
drawi ngs created f or a new proj ect, i f not the very 1
st
, because
wi th i t an archi tect can show a bui l di ngs styl e, si ze, and compl exi ty al l at once. I f an archi tect or
owner does not approve of the 1
st
el evati on, then a new el evati on can be generated wi thout havi ng
had wasted ti me worki ng on f l oor pl ans or any other drawi ngs.
1 - 1 2 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-7. A 3D renderi ng used to adverti se a proj ect under constructi on
When worki ng on a bui l di ng, a contractor can onl y use el evati ons as a vi sual ai d. The contrac-
tor wi l l never take measurements f rom an el evati on and use that to determi ne thi ngs l i ke wi ndow
si zes, wal l l engths, and door types. Because of thi s, some archi tects pl ace a mi ni mal amount of
i nf ormati on on el evati ons and speci f y the cri ti cal di mensi ons and notes on other drawi ngs such as
f l oor pl ans and wal l secti ons.
Si nce archi tectural drawi ngs are pri nted i n bl ack and whi te, the onl y way to del i neate di f f er-
ences i n al l of the l i nes on paper i s by adj usti ng the l i ne wei ght, or l i ne thi ckness. I n al l drawi ngs,
heavi er l i ne wei ghts usual l y i ndi cate more i mportant f eatures i n a proj ect. For exampl e i n the l ef t
i mage i n Fi gure 1 -8, the outl i ne of the standi ng seam roof i s shown i n heavi er l i ne wei ght than the
thi n verti cal l i nes that i ndi cate the standi ng seams. But i n some drawi ng types, such as an el evati on,
heavi er l i ne wei ghts can al so i ndi cate obj ects that are cl oser to vi ew. Si nce al l el evati ons show
orthographi c vi ews, such as the l ef t i mage i n Fi gure 1 -8 (rather than perspecti ve vi ews, such as the
ri ght i mage), l i ne wei ghts are the onl y way to show the vi ewer that obj ects are i n the f oreground or
background. For exampl e, noti ce that i n the l ef t i mage of Fi gure 1 -8, there i s a col umn j ust to the l ef t
of the bui l di ng entrance on the 1
st
f l oor. The l i nes that del i neate the outsi de of the col umn are thi cker
than the l i nes that del i neate the same col umn j ust to the ri ght of the door, because the col umn to
the ri ght i s f arther away f rom the vi ewer. Wi thout thi s change i n l i ne wei ght f or the two col umns,
there woul d be no way to no f rom j ust thi s one vi ew that one col umn was f arther away than the
other. Regardl ess of what you percei ve i n thi s type of si tuati on, i f there i s any doubt i n your mi nd
whatsoever, a qui ck check of the f l oor pl an shoul d conf i rm or ref ute what you vi sual i ze i n the el eva-
ti ons.
1 - 1 3 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-8. The di f f i cul ty i n determi ni ng depth i n an orthographi c i mage (l ef t)
As menti oned, el evati ons provi de the vi ewer wi th the best overal l l ook and f eel f or a proj ect.
But j ust l i ke al l drawi ngs, they have to be scal ed down to f i t wi thi n a sheet of paper, and because of
thi s, the el evati ons can not show every l i ttl e detai l that goes i nto a bui l di ngs constructi on. For
exampl e, the wi ndow el evati ons shown i n Fi gure 1 -9 onl y show one l i ne to i ndi cate wi ndow mul l i ons.
Thi s i s because at the scal e that el evati ons are pri nted, drawi ng l i nes f or every bend or corner i n a
wi ndows prof i l e woul d onl y resul t i n one very thi ck sol i d l i ne bei ng shown. I t i s common practi ce
among veteran 3D users to l i mi t the amount of detai l pl aced i n a structure to that whi ch i s shown i n
the el evati ons. I n other words, i f i ts an i mportant enough f eature f or the cl i ent to want to see i t i n
3D, then i t i s usual l y i mportant enough to pl ace i n the el evati ons. I n f act, the contract that 3DAS
sends out wi th every j ob i ndi cates that al l detai l s shown i n the archi tectural el evati ons wi l l be
i ncl uded i n the 3D model , and any detai l not shown i n the el evati ons wi l l not be i ncl uded i n the 3D
model unl ess expressl y requested by the cl i ent. Thi s ki nd of practi ce l eaves l i ttl e doubt f or both the
3D user and cl i ent as to what wi l l be i ncl uded i n the 3D model .
Obvi ousl y, thi s way of thi nki ng requi res some common sense. For exampl e, i f the archi tectural
drawi ngs show a si ngl e l i ne to represent the mul l i ons, then you cl earl y have to do a l i ttl e research
i nto the secti on detai l s of the wi ndows to determi ne what the mul l i on thi ckness shoul d be. Li kewi se,
when an archi tect can not draw al l of the l i nes f or every bend and corner of a wi ndows prof i l e, i ts a
good i ndi cati on that i ts not necessary to model every bend and corner. I n the l ef t i mage bel ow, you
can j ust barel y di sti ngui sh separate l i nes i ndi cati ng two maj or components of the wi ndow f rame.
Seei ng these separate l i nes woul d be a good i ndi cati on that the wi ndow f rame you create i n 3D
shoul d have at l east one bend i n i ts prof i l e, i . e. two di f f erent parts at di f f erent depths.
1 - 1 4 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-9. A typi cal el evati on of a wi ndow (l ef t) and the more detai l ed secti on vi ew (ri ght)
El evati ons of ten provi de cl ues about an obj ects structure that mi ght at f i rst go unnoti ced. For
exampl e, i n Fi gure 1 -1 0, i t mi ght at f i rst appear that the verti cal bars i n the rai l i ng are compl etel y ver-
ti cal , when i n f act they are curved i n two di f f erent pl aces al ong thei r l ength. You can not see the
curvature i n thi s si ngl e orthographi c vi ew but a cl ue to thei r true shape can be f ound i n the ti ghtl y
spaced hori zontal l i nes that run up the l ength of the bars. These l i nes i ndi cate some sort of bend or
corner and si nce there can not be that many corners i n such a smal l area, the onl y l ogi cal reason
those l i nes exi st i s to denote a curve to the shape of the bars. What makes these l i nes even more
i mportant i s that another el evati on f rom the si de may not even show these curves because they
mi ght be hi dden f rom vi ew by other parts of the bui l di ng. I n f act, the correspondi ng f l oor pl an prob-
abl y won t gi ve any i ndi cati on of these curves ei ther, and theref ore, whenever you see these types
of cl ues, i t woul d be wi se to l ook at the rai l i ng detai l s or any bui l di ng or wal l secti on that shows a
secti on cut of these rai l i ngs.
Fi gure 1-10. An el evati on that reveal s a cl ue that theres more than meets the eye
1 - 1 5 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
An addi ti onal poi nt that I woul d l i ke to make about the rai l i ngs i n Fi gure 1 -1 0 i s that unl ess you
l ook at a detai l drawi ng of the rai l i ng, theres si mpl y no way to know whether the vari ous parts of
the rai l i ng have a square or ci rcul ar cross secti on. I n real i ty, i t usual l y shoul dn t matter because
even i f you know the cross secti on i s ci rcul ar, you shoul dn t add the extra pol ygons i f you don t
need to, and unl ess your camera i s extremel y cl ose to the rai l i ngs, you woul d never be abl e to tel l
anyway. For rai l i ngs that are compl etel y strai ght, i . e. do not contai n bends and curves, i t woul dn t be
too detri mental to bui l d the rai l i ngs wi th a ci rcul ar cross secti on. But the rai l i ngs i n Fi gure 1 -1 0
cl earl y have a si gni f i cant amount of curvature, especi al l y the i ntri cate desi gn i n the top secti on.
Addi ng a ci rcul ar cross secti on to these rai l i ng coul d easi l y i ncrease the pol ygon count 5-f ol d or
more. Si mpl y put, knowi ng how much detai l to bui l d i nto your obj ects i s a cri ti cal part of scene
opti mi zati on.
Floor plans
The heart of any set of archi tectural drawi ngs i s the f l oor pl an. From the draf ter who l abors over i ts
creati on, to the engi neer who uses i t as a templ ate f or hi s or her drawi ngs, to the bui l der who
methodi cal l y erects the bui l di ng to i ts speci f i cati ons, no other drawi ng type recei ves as much
attenti on and anal ysi s as the typi cal f l oor pl an. Fl oor pl ans show and del i neate i mportant bui l di ng
components of a si ngl e f l oor as seen f rom a top vi ew and as seen f rom a parti cul ar verti cal posi ti on
between the f l oor and cei l i ng. The pri mary responsi bi l i ty of a f l oor pl an i s to show preci sel y where
wal l s, wi ndows, and doors are l ocated, and dependi ng on the type of proj ect and drawi ng practi ces
of the archi tectural f i rm, may i ncl ude other cri ti cal bui l di ng components such as beams, col umns,
roof overhangs, and f l oor and wal l f i ni shes (or surf aces).
When a bui l der starts the constructi on process, the drawi ng that the bui l der wi l l be most
f ocused on i s the f oundati on pl an, because you can t erect wal l s, wi ndows, doors, etc, wi thout a
f oundati on i n pl ace. On very smal l proj ects, the i nf ormati on usual l y pl aced on a f oundati on pl an
mi ght be i ncorporated i n the f l oor pl an, but i n most constructi on drawi ngs, the f oundati on pl an i s a
sel f contai ned drawi ng that del i neates i mportant structural i nf ormati on. Thi s cri ti cal i nf ormati on
i ncl udi ng f ooti ng si zes, sl ab thi ckness, beam and col umn l ocati ons, etc. , comes f rom a structural
engi neer, but that i nf ormati on starts wi th a f l oor pl an. Duri ng the desi gn devel opment stage, an
archi tect wi l l provi de the structural engi neer wi th a f l oor pl an, and usi ng that f l oor pl an as a templ ate
the engi neer can desi gn the structural components of the bui l di ng. I f the structural engi neer
deci des that wal l s have to be moved or col umns have to be changed, archi tects wi l l then adj ust the
f l oor pl an wi thi n the constructi on drawi ngs to accommodate the necessary structural desi gn
change. The same ki nd of process i s repeated wi th each of the engi neers (mechani cal , el ectri cal ,
pl umbi ng) i nvol ved i n the desi gn, so i t shoul d be easy to see how the f l oor pl an serves as a central
authori ty f rom whi ch al l other drawi ngs are generated.
On a f l oor pl an, l i nes representi ng the exteri or of a wal l usual l y do not actual l y i ndi cate the
exteri or surf ace but rather the outsi de surf ace of the l oad beari ng component wi thi n the wal l . Thi s
means that even i f the exteri or si de of a wal l contai ns a 1 -i nch tri m f eature runni ng al ong the bottom
of the wal l , as shown i n Fi gure 1 -1 1 , the f l oor pl an wi l l sti l l ref l ect where the mai n l oad beari ng part of
the wal l i s (i n thi s case the concrete bl ock). The l i ne on a f l oor pl an representi ng the exteri or of a
wal l wi l l sti l l al most al ways represent the outsi de surf ace of the concrete bl ock, or whatever l oad
beari ng component the wal l i s made f rom. When you begi n setti ng up your l i nework f or i mportati on
i nto 3ds Max, I recommend al i gni ng al l the avai l abl e el evati ons to the f l oor pl an i n thi s manner. I f
drawn correctl y, both si des of the el evati on wi l l al i gn to the f l oor pl an as shown i n Fi gure 1 -1 1 .
1 - 1 6 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-11. Proj ecti ng a f l oor pl an onto an el evati on
I f a proj ect i nvol ves creati ng an exteri or vi sual i zati on onl y, then you don t need to be con-
cerned wi th anythi ng i nsi de the bui l di ng, except f or those el ements that you want to see through
the wi ndows. Theref ore, you usual l y don t have to be concerned wi th somethi ng as i nsi gni f i cant as
the exact l ocati on of the i nteri or surf ace of an exteri or wal l . When prepari ng the CAD l i nework f or
i mportati on i nto 3ds Max, i n most cases I wi l l si mpl y trace the l i nework representi ng the exteri or
surf ace of the wal l s, and of f set these newl y created l i nes 8 i nches. Traci ng the exi sti ng l i nework
ensures that the l i nework I i mport i s f l awl ess and of f setti ng the l i nework 8 i nches ensures that I
have a suf f i ci ent wal l thi ckness to house al l wi ndows and doors. The f act that the wal l s may actual l y
be 8. 5 i nches, 9. 25 i nches, 1 0. 1 i nches, etc, real l y i s an i rrel evant thi ng that wi l l never be noti ced.
Perhaps i f the wal l thi ckness were as l arge as 1 2 i nches, I woul d then of f set the exteri or l i nes 1 2
i nches.
Thi s same type of mental i ty shoul d al so appl y to a proj ect where al l you need to create i s an
i nteri or vi sual i zati on. For an i nteri or scene, you woul d obvi ousl y need to use the l i nework on a f l oor
pl an that represents i nteri or wal l s; however, every archi tect has thei r own uni que way of represent-
i ng i nteri or wal l s. Some choose to depi ct wal l s wi th two l i nes showi ng a rough approxi mati on of the
actual wal l thi ckness, whi l e some choose to show two l i nes representi ng stud thi cknesses al ong
wi th an addi ti onal l i ne on ei ther si de depi cti ng a parti cul ar wal l f i ni sh. Some choose to di mensi on
thei r wal l s and others choose to l abel thei r wal l s wi th an annotati on that di rects vi ewers to l ook at a
wal l schedul e to determi ne the exact wal l thi ckness. Regardl ess of how i nteri or wal l s are depi cted
on a f l oor pl an, 3D arti sts shoul d not be concerned wi th whats i nsi de a wal l , but rather that the
l i nework i s l ocated i n an approxi matel y accurate l ocati on. Accuracy i n 3D i s a di f f i cul t concept f or
many users to pri ori ti ze, and i ts i mportant to understand how to pri ori ti ze the accuracy of the
l i nework you prepare f or 3ds Max. For exampl e, i f you have a ti ny one-quarter i nch gap showi ng
between two wal l s that shoul d be perf ectl y j oi ned, that i s a real l y bad thi ng because l i ght can easi l y
seep through and the vi ewer wi l l al most al ways see thi s ki nd of i naccuracy. However, i f your wal l
thi ckness i s of f by that same amount or i f your wal l pl acement i s of f by that same one-quarter of an
i nch, the vi ewer wi l l never know or care.
1 - 1 7 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Checki ng f l oor pl ans agai nst el evati ons i s an i mportant part of prepari ng the CAD drawi ngs f or
use i n 3ds Max. I n Fi gure 1 -1 1 , noti ce that i n addi ti on to the si de of the bui l di ng bei ng al i gned properl y,
the masonry openi ngs are al so al i gned. I f thi s were not the case, then the cl i ent wi l l usual l y want
you to bui l d per the el evati ons, si nce they best ref l ect what the cl i ent understands the bui l di ng wi l l
l ook l i ke. One more poi nt I woul d l i ke to make about thi s i mage i s that the wi ndows have a substan-
ti al tri m f eature around the top, l ef t, and ri ght si des of each wi ndow. I t woul d be i mpossi bl e to know
f or sure what the cross-secti on of thi s tri m f eature l ooks l i ke f or sure wi thout ref erri ng to a secti on
drawi ng or a detai l drawi ng that i ncl udes a secti on cut through the wi ndow.
Perhaps the most i mportant f eature f ound on a f l oor pl an i s the di mensi on. Engi neers wi l l
al ways use a f l oor pl ans di mensi ons to desi gn thei r el ements and bui l ders wi l l al ways use di men-
si ons to gui de thei r constructi on. 3D arti sts have l i ttl e need f or di mensi ons, however, because as
j ust menti oned, the l i nework used i n 3D doesn t need to be as accurate as the l i nework used by the
actual bui l der. For exampl e, i f a draf ter modi f i ed a f l oor pl an di mensi on at the very l ast mi nute wi th-
out adj usti ng the l i nework properl y, whi ch happens al l the ti me, thi s shoul d be of no concern to the
3D arti st. So af ter recei vi ng a drawi ng f rom an archi tect, one of the very f i rst thi ngs I wi l l do i s
remove al l of the di mensi ons. Fl oor pl ans tend to al so contai n a great deal of notes, and whi l e some
of these notes may provi de i mportant ref erence i nf ormati on that woul d be usef ul f urther al ong the
3D creati on process, much of what i s f ound can be removed al ong wi th the di mensi ons. The i dea i s
to remove everythi ng f rom al l drawi ngs that i s si mpl y not goi ng to prove usef ul i n 3ds Max. I mport-
i ng hundreds of di mensi ons, notes, hatch patterns, etc. , wi l l onl y sl ow your work down i n 3ds Max.
Sections
Secti on drawi ngs provi de a cutaway vi ew of a bui l di ng f rom the si de to reveal what l ays beneath the
surf ace of each bui l di ng el ement the secti on cuts through. I n a set of archi tectural drawi ngs, there
i s usual l y one or two bui l di ng secti ons that show a compl ete secti on vi ew of the enti re l ength of the
bui l di ng, and several wal l secti ons that provi de a parti al secti on vi ew of areas that need speci al
emphasi s, as shown i n 1 -1 2.
The mai n purpose of a secti on drawi ng i s to i l l ustrate i nf ormati on that cannot be easi l y deri ved
f rom other drawi ngs. For exampl e, the l ef t i mage of Fi gure 1 -1 2 shows part of an el evati on, but i t can
not be determi ned f rom thi s el evati on al one or any other drawi ng type (besi de a secti on) where the
roof of the bui l di ng i s l ocated. I f the el evati on contai ned an el evati on marker i ndi cati ng that the roof
i s l ocated, f or exampl e, 1 5 -0 A. F. F. (above f i ni sh f l oor), then you woul d not need to ref er to a bui l d-
i ng or wal l secti on. However, as menti oned, every archi tectural f i rm has thei r own way of creati ng
drawi ngs and thi s i s not somethi ng you are guaranteed to f i nd on a drawi ng. I f such a note does
exi st on an el evati on, then that woul d be an exampl e of a note that i s worth keepi ng f or l ater ref er-
ence when the ti me comes to create the roof. So i f you want to determi ne where the roof i s
posi ti oned i n the el evati on of Fi gure 1 -1 2, si mpl y ref er to drawi ng B on sheet A5. 1 and you woul d see
the appropri ate secti on and the true l ocati on of the roof.
1 - 1 8 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-12. A secti on drawi ng reveal i ng the l ocati on of the roof - i nf ormati on mi ssi ng
f rom the el evati on
I ts i mportant to note that whi l e every f i rm has there own uni que way of creati ng drawi ngs,
there are some general gui del i nes that most f i rms f ol l ow i n the creati on of secti on drawi ngs. Fi rst,
when a secti on vi ew cuts through an obj ect, that obj ect i s usual l y shown wi th a hatch pattern. I n the
ri ght i mage of Fi gure 1 -1 2, noti ce that the roof that was j ust di scussed contai ns numerous hori zon-
tal and verti cal l i nes. Thi s i s nothi ng more than a hatch pattern to i ndi cate that the roof i s not j ust
some obj ect i n the background of the secti on but rather i s an obj ect bei ng cut by the secti on.
Noti ce al so i n thi s i mage that there are two rectangul ar areas that contai n a sol i d hatch. Thi s type of
hatch i s usual l y reserved f or beams or areas where concrete i s poured i nto pl ace.
As 3D arti sts, we shoul dn t be too concerned about what the i nsi de of a wal l l ooks l i ke or what
materi al s make-up the f l oor or cei l i ng of our vi sual i zati on. However, i t i s i mportant to understand
what each component of a secti on drawi ng i s depi cti ng, so that we know where to f i nd the mi ssi ng
i nf ormati on that we can not f i nd on other drawi ngs.
As an addi ti onal note about secti on drawi ngs, they are of ten very hel pf ul i n the creati on of l of ts
or sweeps. As a matter of pref erence, I al ways create wal l s usi ng the l of t or sweep f eature rather
than extrudi ng spl i nes or usi ng the Edi t Pol y f eature that some users pref er. I f you want to ensure
that the shapes whi ch you l of t or sweep contai n the hi ghest l evel of detai l possi bl e, you mi ght need
to generate your shapes usi ng the secti on drawi ngs. Due to the l arge scal e that el evati ons are usu-
al l y pri nted at, such as 1 /8=1 -0, there i s onl y so much detai l that archi tects want or need to put
i nto the el evati ons. Earl i er I had menti oned that i f the detai l i s not shown i n the el evati ons then i t
typi cal l y does not need to be seen i n 3D (except f or cl ose-up vi ews). Whi l e thi s i s a good rul e of
thumb, when detai l i s needed, you mi ght si mpl y have no choi ce but to bui l d your shape f rom a sec-
ti on drawi ng. I n Fi gure 1 -1 3, you can see an el evati on that doesn t contai n as much detai l about the
sof f i t and f asci a as the secti on drawi ng. By usi ng the secti on drawi ng as a gui de, rather than the
el evati on, you can trace a much more detai l ed shape to use f or your l of t or sweep, as shown on the
ri ght si de of the i mage.
1 - 1 9 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-13. A secti on drawi ng used to create a more detai l ed shape than what
the el evati on can provi de
Site plans
I bel i eve that i f there i s any drawi ng type that 3D arti sts struggl e wi th understandi ng more than any
other, i t woul d have to be the si te drawi ng. Thi s i s pri mari l y because si te drawi ngs are convol uted
wi th f ar more i nf ormati on than a 3D arti st woul d ever care to see or know about and whi l e the i nf or-
mati on i s i mportant and necessary to the contractor bui l di ng the proj ect, the maj ori ty of
i nf ormati on f ound on most si te pl ans onl y makes understandi ng the l i nework more di f f i cul t. Fi gure 1 -
1 4 i l l ustrates thi s probl em qui te cl earl y. The top i mage shows a l arge si te drawi ng over 300 acres
and the bottom l ef t i mage shows a cl ose-up of one area. As you can see, there i s an enormous
amount of l i nework that i s si mpl y unnecessary f or the 3D arti st. The bottom ri ght i mage shows the
same cl ose-up wi th al l of the unnecessary i nf ormati on removed. Taki ng thi s di rty si te pl an, as I cal l
i t, and turni ng i t i nto a cl ean si te pl an can be qui te a chal l enge f or even an experi enced 3D arti st i f
the he or she does not understand some basi c pri nci pl es about how si te pl ans are created.
1 - 20 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-14. An exampl e of a di rty and cl ean si te drawi ng
As menti oned earl i er, archi tectural drawi ngs rei terate a great deal of i nf ormati on presented by
the subcontractors. I n the case of a si te drawi ng, archi tects wi l l usual l y al ways i ncl ude thei r own
watered down versi on of a si te pl an that contai ns a f racti on of the i nf ormati on provi ded by the ci vi l
engi neer that creates the master si te pl an. The pri mary reason f or thi s i s so that the bui l di ng
department and the other subcontractors i nvol ved i n the proj ect can see and understand the over-
al l si te concept wi thout needi ng a degree i n ci vi l engi neeri ng. I f an archi tect presented the more
convol uted si te pl an to the bui l di ng department, some of the members deci di ng whether or not to
approve the proj ect mi ght have no cl ue as to what they were l ooki ng at. So the archi tects j ob i s to
take the ci vi l engi neers drawi ng and remove al l but the most i mportant f eatures that are cri ti cal to
wi nni ng approval by the bui l di ng department and cri ti cal to hel pi ng the other subcontractors desi gn
thei r respecti ve areas of the proj ect. Fi gure 1 -1 5 shows an exampl e of an archi tectural si te pl an wi th
j ust the most i mportant i nf ormati on, such as setbacks, property l i nes, retenti on areas, new wal k-
ways, etc. I n thi s parti cul ar drawi ng, the f i re protecti on pl an i s combi ned wi th the si te pl an because
of the si mpl i ci ty of both i ndi vi dual drawi ngs.
1 - 21 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-15. A typi cal archi tectural si te drawi ng
Ci vi l engi neers use a di f f erent scal e than archi tects and because of thi s, the drawi ngs that you
recei ve f rom an archi tect may need to be scal ed properl y bef ore they can be superi mposed wi th
the drawi ngs used to create the bui l di ngs i n your proj ect. Ci vi l engi neers use deci mal uni ts wi th 1
uni t equal l y 1 f oot. Archi tects, on the other hand, use archi tectural uni ts wi th 1 uni t equal l y 1 i nch. I t
shoul d be menti oned here, however, that i n most countri es besi des the U. S. , archi tects and engi -
neers both use the metri c system. Regardl ess, ci vi l engi neers i n the U. S. create thei r drawi ngs wi th
1 uni t equal l y 1 i nch, whi ch means that the drawi ngs are created at 1 /1 2
th
the scal e of the drawi ngs
that an archi tect creates. Thi s means that i f you want to superi mpose a bui l di ngs l i nework on the
si te drawi ng, you wi l l need to scal e the si te drawi ng up twel ve-f ol d i n order f or the f ootpri nts to
match.
Another thi ng that makes understandi ng si te pl ans di f f i cul t f or some users i s that when an
archi tect sends a si te pl an f or a proj ect, i t usual l y does not come wi th such detai l s as the one
shown i n Fi gure 1 -1 6. Many archi tects don t thi nk to send thi s type of drawi ng to the 3D arti st and
many 3D arti sts don t thi nk to ask f or i t. But wi thout thi s ki nd of detai l , the 3D arti st i s l ef t to guess
at the detai l s of key f eatures. I n thi s i mage, you can see a parti cul ar type of curb prof i l e, and i n thi s
drawi ng i ts actual l y gi ven the cal l out, Type F . Thi s means that somewhere i n the ci vi l engi neeri ng
drawi ngs, theres a detai l drawi ng enti tl ed Type F and i f the 3D arti sts creates anythi ng other than
thi s curb type, there i s a good chance that the owner or archi tect wi l l have somethi ng to say about
1 - 22 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
i t. Whenever you work on a drawi ng (such as a si te pl an) where i ts i mpossi bl e to know exactl y
what i s goi ng on, i ts better to ask the cl i ent f or more drawi ngs or more i nf ormati on. Otherwi se, the
consequences coul d be costl y and ti me consumi ng.
Fi gure 1-16. An exampl e of a si te drawi ng detai l
Landscape plans
I n the previ ous di scussi on about si te pl ans, I stated that I bel i eve that i f there i s any drawi ng type
that 3D arti sts struggl e wi th understandi ng more than any other, i t woul d have to be the si te draw-
i ng. I certai nl y bel i eve thi s to be true, but i f there i s one drawi ng type that users actual l y struggl e
wi th conf ormi ng to, i t woul d wi thout a doubt be l andscape drawi ngs. Landscape drawi ngs present a
chal l enge to many users because vegetati on i s one of the most di f f i cul t, i f not the most di f f i cul t type
of vi sual i zati on content to create real i sti cal l y. Just l i ke poor l i ghti ng can rui n a perf ectl y model ed
and textured scene, poor l andscapi ng can rui n a perf ectl y i l l umi nated exteri or. I n my experi ence, I
have f ound that l andscapi ng i s rarel y ever a f ocal poi nt of a proj ect. However, when not created
real i sti cal l y, i t qui ckl y becomes the most di stracti ng component of a vi sual i zati on.
There are numerous reasons why l andscapi ng i s such a di f f i cul t part of archi tectural vi sual i za-
ti on. One reason i s that many cl i ents don t have a l andscapi ng pl an prepared at the ti me they ask
f or your servi ces, and when asked about the l andscapi ng, thei r typi cal answer mi ght be, j ust throw
i n somethi ng that l ooks ni ce or j ust make i t tropi cal l ooki ng. But because most of us aren t l and-
scape archi tects, these requests are easi er sai d than done. Another reason i s that there are tens
of thousands of pl ant and tree speci es i n the worl d and i f the cl i ent wants the same vegetati on that
i s speci f i ed i n the l andscape drawi ngs, i t i s of ten very di f f i cul t to f i nd a sui tabl e match i n ones
l i brary. Even i f you own an extremel y l arge l i brary or own a pl ugi n that al l ows you to create vegeta-
ti on f rom scratch, i t i s of ten very di f f i cul t to repl i cate the l ook of the actual vegetati on speci f i ed i n
the l andscape drawi ngs.
Bef ore accepti ng or quoti ng a proj ect, I hi ghl y recommend aski ng the cl i ent exactl y what he
wants to see f or l andscapi ng. Speci f i cal l y, i t woul d be wi se to ask the f ol l owi ng questi ons at a
mi ni mum:
Are there l andscape drawi ngs? I f so, are the drawi ngs j ust temporary and made onl y to sat-
i sf y code or wi l l there be a new l andscape pl an desi gned down the road?
How cl osel y does the vegetati on i n 3D have to match the vegetati on that wi l l actual l y be
pl anted? Can I , f or exampl e, use a Foxtai l pal m i n l i eu of a Queen pal m.
Do you want to see f ul l y matured vegetati on or younger vegetati on l i ke the ki nd that wi l l
actual l y be pl anted?
Are the hardscape el ements (pavers, copi ng, etc) f i nal i zed? I f not, when wi l l they be?
1 - 23 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
The answers to these questi ons can greatl y af f ect the amount of rework you have to perf orm so i t
woul d be wi se to cover yoursel f by stati ng i n the contract what the consequences are of the di f f er-
ent possi bl e answers you mi ght recei ve. For exampl e, i f there are no l andscapi ng pl ans, and the
cl i ent wants you to pl ay the rol e of l andscape archi tect, are you goi ng to charge extra f or thi s work
and what happens i f the cl i ent doesn t l i ke your desi gn?
As i ndi cated i n the l ast questi on, l andscape archi tects are usual l y responsi bl e f or desi gni ng hard-
scape el ements l i ke pavers, copi ng, pool decks, wal kway patterns, etc. I f you do not see these
detai l s on the archi tects si te pl an, whi ch i n my experi ence i s rare, don t assume that they wi l l not be
needed. One of the great marketi ng advantages of worki ng wi th a cl i ent on a 3D vi sual i zati on i s that
you wi l l of ten be asked by the cl i ent to contact the vari ous subcontractors di rectl y to obtai n the
i nf ormati on or drawi ngs you need. Take advantage of thi s opportuni ty and pl ace a cal l to the l and-
scape archi tect (or any sub) and ask them di rectl y the type of questi ons j ust menti oned. You wi l l
of ten f i nd the l andscape desi gner gi vi ng you si gni f i cantl y di f f erent and more accurate i nf ormati on
than the proj ect archi tect. Of course thi s i s true f or any sub contractor that you deal wi th, so i ts
al ways good to ask questi ons.
Landscape archi tects usual l y del i neate thei r vegetati on sel ecti ons i n one of two ways; by pl aci ng
annotati ons next to groups of pl ant and tree symbol s, as shown i n the l ef t i mage of Fi gure 1 -1 7 or by
creati ng a l egend of symbol s and usi ng those di f f erent symbol s i n the l andscape pl an to i ndi cate
the di f f erent types of vegetati on, as shown i n the ri ght i mage. I n the l ef t i mage, noti ce that there i s a
cal l out f or 4 Foxtai l pal ms and that the cal l out i s poi nted to onl y one symbol . Si nce the annotati on
ref ers to 4 Foxtai l pal ms, you shoul d see 3 other i denti cal symbol s cl ose by, as the i mage shows.
Underneath each cal l out i n the l ef t i mage and under the Speci f i cati on header on the ri ght i mage i s
the i nf ormati on f or the si ze of the vegetati on to be pl anted. I t i s obvi ousl y i mportant to create your
vegetati on at the correct si ze, however, I f i nd i t easi er and perf ectl y suf f i ci ent to j ust i mport the veg-
etati on symbol s and use thei r canopy si zes to scal e the vegetati on to proper si ze.
Fi gure 1-17. Exampl es of l andscape annotati ons
1 - 24 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
As a f i nal note about l andscapi ng, the l arger the vegetati on, the more i mportant i t i s to create
correctl y. I n the l ef t i mage of Fi gure 1 -1 7, f or exampl e, i t i s f ar more i mportant to make sure that the
l arge Foxtai l pal ms l ook l i ke Foxtai l pal ms than i t i s to make sure that the very smal l Af ri can I ri s
pl ants l ook correct. You shoul d obvi ousl y try to match vegetati on as wel l as you can, but when you
si mpl y don t have the correct model i n your l i brary or when you don t have the ti me to create i t f rom
scratch, i t i s f ar better to sacri f i ce accuracy on the smal l er vegetati on. I n f act, as l ong as your cam-
era i sn t too cl ose to the vegetati on i n questi on, you can use the Scatter f eature to very qui ckl y
create vegetati on that has the general l ook you need to achi eve. For exampl e, i f you want to create
a l arge number of smal l hi bi scus pl ants wi th whi te f l owers, si mpl y scatter an i ndi vi dual f ace wi th an
appropri ate i mage of a green l eaf around a vol ume that represents the l ocati on of the pl ants and
then scatter a f ace wi th an i mage of a whi te f l ower. By control l i ng the number of dupl i cates you can
easi l y control the densi ty of the green l eaves and whi te f l owers and by control l i ng the si ze of the
i ndi vi dual f aces that get scattered, you can control the qual i ty (or accuracy) of the vegetati on and
the shadows that get cast. Techni ques l i ke these are di scussed throughout the rest of thi s book.
Roof Plans
Except f or f l at, si mpl e roof desi gns, a roof can be another extremel y di f f i cul t obj ect type f or 3D
arti sts to create. Wi th some programs l i ke Revi t or Archi tectural Desktop, you can create si mpl e
roof s i n l i teral l y j ust a f ew seconds. However, wi th roof desi gns of any degree of compl exi ty, these
programs si mpl y don t make thi ngs any easi er. Once you start i ntroduci ng curves, changes i n el e-
vati on, or uni que f rame structures, creati ng a 3D roof i n 3ds Max becomes much more practi cal
and ef f i ci ent.
I thi nk i t woul d be saf e to say that bef ore you can create a roof i n 3D, you must know how to
create one i n 2D, and unl ess you ve worked i n an archi tectural of f i ce doi ng j ust such a thi ng, thi s
mi ght be qui te a di f f i cul t undertaki ng. Havi ng spent several years as an archi tectural draf tsman, I ve
probabl y drawn over 1 00 roof pl ans f or al l types of bui l di ngs, but f or very compl ex roof structures I
sti l l f i nd mysel f struggl i ng today. Unf ortunatel y, roof pl ans are not al ways avai l abl e when a cl i ent
approaches you f or a 3D vi sual i zati on, and when thi s i s the case, your onl y choi ce i s to wai t on the
archi tect to provi de one or to create one yoursel f. Regardl ess, unl ess you know how to draw a pl an
i n 2D, you probabl y won t have much success creati ng one i n 3D.
Rel ati vel y speaki ng, roof pl ans do not usual l y contai n a great deal of l i nework because there
are real l y onl y a f ew cri ti cal thi ngs that the archi tect needs to del i neate. The most i mportant thi ng
to show i s the l ocati on of roof ri dges, hi ps, and val l eys, but other i mportant thi ngs i ncl ude, roof
pi tches, gutter l ocati ons, roof surf ace materi al s (i . e. ti l e, shi ngl e), and exteri or wal l l ocati ons, al l of
whi ch can be seen i n the exampl e i n Fi gure 1 -1 8.
1 - 25 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-18. An exampl e of a roof pl an
Unl ess a very uni que roof desi gn i s cal l ed f or, two adj acent roof pl anes 90 degrees apart i n
ori entati on, wi l l al ways meet to create a hi p at exactl y 45 degrees, as shown i n Fi gure 1 -1 9. When
one roof structure j oi ns i nto a compl etel y separate roof, a val l ey wi l l be created, al so shown. Noti ce
al so i n thi s i mage that the apex of thi s roof i s l abel ed ri dge and that the sl ope of the roof, known
al so as pi tch, i s l abel ed as 4: 1 2. The 4: 1 2 i s al so known as the ri se over run because the roof ri ses 4
f eet f or every 1 2 f eet i t runs hori zontal l y. The onl y reason the hi p l i nes woul d not be exactl y 45
degrees i n ori entati on i s i f the adj oi ni ng roof surf aces were not at the same sl ope. Because of the
annotati on TYP (short f or typical) i n Fi gure 1 -1 9, we can cl earl y see that al l three roof surf aces have
the same 4: 1 2 sl ope.
Knowi ng thi s basi c i nf ormati on, you can very qui ckl y create the 2D l i nework f or many si mpl e
roof desi gns by drawi ng l i nes representi ng the roof overhangs (the di stance f rom the exteri or wal l s
to the edge of the roof ), and connecti ng the vari ous roof surf aces wi th strai ght 45 degrees l i nes
and hori zontal /verti cal l i nes representi ng the ri dges.
1 - 26 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1 -20 i l l ustrates some other f eatures commonl y f ound on a roof pl an. Noti ce that the top
si de of thi s i mage shows a hori zontal l i ne f or the roof s edge rather than two val l ey l i nes where one
roof j oi n i nto another. Thi s i s a cl ear i ndi cati on that thi s parti cul ar roof i s compl etel y separate f rom
the mai n roof and i n f act stands wel l above i t. I f thi s smal l roof ran i nto the l arger roof, we woul d see
two val l ey l i nes at 45 degrees. Another i ndi cati on that thi s smal l er roof i s i ndependent of the l arger
roof i s the dashed l i ne representi ng the exteri or wal l surf aces bel ow. Dashed l i nes are used to
del i neate structures bel ow or above the vi ew of whatever i s bei ng di spl ayed. I n thi s case, we can
see a compl etel y separate set of l i nes f or thi s roof, whi ch woul d onl y be shown i f thi s roof was ri s-
i ng through and above the mai n roof. Yet another i ndi cati on that thi s roof i s el evated above the mai n
roof i s the annotati on of a bui l di ng el ement known as a cri cket. A cri cket i s a structure that redi -
rects rai n water so that i t runs of f the roof rather than col l ecti ng behi nd a wal l that ri ses through a
roof. Because we see a cri cket cal l out on the roof pl an, we know that there i s a wal l comi ng up
through the mai n roof.
Thi s secti on has hi ghl i ghted j ust a f ew thi ngs to hel p make understandi ng roof pl ans a l i ttl e
easi er. Later i n thi s book, we l l l ook at vari ous methods used to create 3D roof s f rom thi s 2D
l i nework.
Reflected Ceiling Plans
The l ast drawi ng type that I want to di scuss i s the ref l ected cei l i ng pl an. Thi s drawi ng type, shown i n
Fi gure 1 -21 , gets i ts name f rom the i dea that i f you l ook strai ght down on a mi rror l yi ng on a f l oor, you
woul d see the ref l ecti on of the cei l i ng i n the mi rror. Thi s drawi ng i s usual l y onl y needed f or i nteri or
scenes, but wi thout i t, you woul d probabl y f i nd yoursel f pl ayi ng the rol e of an archi tect desi gni ng the
l ayout of i mportant bui l di ng el ements such as l i ght f i xtures, cei l i ng f ans, suspended cei l i ngs, sof f i ts,
etc, al l of whi ch are f ound on the ref l ected cei l i ng pl an.
Fi gure 1-20. An exampl e of a cri cket
Fi gure 1-19. An exampl e of a hi p and val l ey connecti on
1 - 27 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-21. An exampl e of a ref l ected cei l i ng pl an
Li ke a f l oor pl an, the ref l ected cei l i ng pl an shows certai n bui l di ng el ements cut through. But
unl i ke a f l oor pl an, where the cut pl ane usual l y exi sts about hal f way between the f l oor and cei l i ng,
the cut pl ane f or the cei l i ng pl an occurs j ust bel ow the cei l i ng, thereby excl udi ng wi ndows and
doors f rom the cut. Noti ce i n Fi gure 1 -21 that no doors or wi ndows are shown. However, the magni -
f i ed i mage i n Fi gure 1 -22 gi ves a cl ear i ndi cati on of col umns al ong the covered wal kway bei ng
i ntersected by the cut pl ane. The col umns are shown wi th a bol der l i ne wei ght whi l e beams that run
between them are shown i n a l i ghter l i ne wei ght. Thi s al l ows the archi tect to hi ghl i ght the l ocati on of
i mportant bui l di ng el ements (l i ke beams) that mi ght be excl uded f rom the f l oor pl an. The archi tect
coul d show the cut runni ng through wi ndows and doors, but thi s woul d serve no purpose and woul d
onl y convol ute the drawi ng wi th unnecessary l i nework. Noti ce al so i n Fi gure 1 -22 that other i mpor-
tant f eatures l i ke sof f i t panel s can be detai l ed. Wi th the excepti on of a secti on drawi ng, thi s ki nd of
i nf ormati on coul d not be f ound anywhere el se. One other i mportant pi ece of i nf ormati on commonl y
f ound on ref l ected cei l i ng pl ans i s cei l i ng hei ght. The pl an shown i n Fi gure 1 -22 does not show cei l -
i ng hei ght because there i s onl y one cei l i ng hei ght used throughout the enti re bui l di ng and thi s was
noted on the f l oor pl an; however, the ref l ected cei l i ng pl an i s of ten the mai n ref erence poi nt f or
speci f yi ng cei l i ng hei ghts.
1 - 28 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs
Fi gure 1-22. An exampl e of a ref l ected cei l i ng pl an
Summary
The purpose of thi s chapter i s to hel p 3D users understand the process of creati ng archi tectural
drawi ngs and some of the i mportant characteri sti cs of the most i mportant drawi ng types f or work
i n 3D. Many vi sual i zati on arti sts mi grate f rom other i ndustri es and understandi ng archi tectural
drawi ngs can be qui te di f f i cul t. Unf ortunatel y, bei ng an expert i n 3ds Max doesn t hel p much when i t
comes to readi ng archi tectural drawi ngs or understandi ng how they are put together. Wi thout
knowi ng how to read drawi ngs, theres real l y no way to create what you need to i n 3D and wi thout
knowi ng the process of creati ng archi tectural drawi ngs, you are f ar more l i kel y to run i nto some of
the many probl ems menti oned i n thi s chapter that can come up al ong the way. Hopef ul l y, bef ore
conti nui ng on wi th the remai nder of thi s book you have a thorough understandi ng of concepts di s-
cussed i n thi s chapter. I f so, the techni ques descri bed throughout thi s book wi l l be much easi er to
understand.
1 - 29 Under s t a ndi ng Ar c h i t ec t ur a l Dr awi ngs