The construction details taught by my construction professors, while very useful, are not as nice as the ones I often see featured in those beautiful archdaily facade sections. I was wondering if there is some kind of manual on how to represent all the elements into a section. Or if it's just a matter of researching and studying a lot of offices and their way of representation. If so, please provide either a guide or some offices/studios worth looking into for this.
First construction details are not about aesthetic appeal in itself. A building is a three-dimensional composition of components or you can say design elements. The arrangement of the windows and doors for example is the composition of shapes on a two-dimensional surface or facade. Understand the principles of composition when it comes to composing the elements on this three-dimensional canvas that is the building. You need to synthesize the many aspects of what you learn, not just what is in the class but throughout architectural education. When you produce technical details, remember to compose the white space. Did you not learn anything from art 2d composition course or class sessions? Same idea. Don't clutter. Balance the details and learn to use proper line weights in the CAD tools you may be using. Mainly, it's about composing this information with clarity, good but appropriate spacing of the dimensions, and other textual information from the content so it's clear, uncluttered, and importantly legible. Appropriate font size, clear fonts yet using say, all cap lettering for various textual elements. This is part of architectural drafting and lettering principles. Apply the good principles learned back in the pre-computer era architectural drawings and apply them.
As N.S. said, there is a lot of research and studying but some of what you are saying is basically an art form like how you compose stuff like in desktop publishing and composing the information. It's not something you are going to synthesize from just one book or source. Try to keep things simple, balanced but not necessarily symmetrical. Keep legibility and just try to visualize how it's laid out. Leave enough white space so that it doesn't look or feel like it's mashing together like cluttery noise. Look at professionally prepared blueprints by architects.
Imagine you are a builder looking at the plans in non-ideal lighting. Remember, they are the primary users of the construction documents. When it comes to design concept proposal, it's about communicating to clients the design. So, you're not really going to be getting into full technical detail of construction details so you want to show less technical noise for stuff presented to clients but the stuff for the contractor, you need to communicate sufficient amount of information, as clear and succinctly as possible so they can do their job. No more no less.
If needed I can offer my 'consolidation services' on a case by case basis for any 'verbose' posts that users would like to have summarized. My fee is $5 per 500 words. I will also accept drawings of aesthetically pleasing details.
There is an elegance to all things formal or graphic.
Almost without fail though, clients don't want to pay for elegance of process, only resulting product. And GC's don't care about docs until it starts to affect their work.
So, it is an individual satisfaction to produce architectural documentation that is visually satisfying. Some firms put out great looking docs, few are elegant.
I knew an architect that said he didn't believe in using line weights or spending more than an hour on any drawing. He produced unclear drawings and his built work was horrible.
Chad, going through that with a arch in the office at the moment. Keeps saying it's not possible, too hard, yadada, because revit... yet makes al sorts of other firs-year mistakes. Still laments that revit should do all this stuff for you. Dude... on the same 1:10 detail, you have bold concrete, and light concrete oulines... both are in section? How did you fuck that one?
also, why are all your wall cut hatches set to steel? Great, just what we need, a 300mm thick solid steel wall hatch everywhere because dude can't figure out wall assemblies.
Metal building with exposed metal studs @ interior & insulated metal panels; no interior finish or insulation. ONLY structural can model metal studs but structural doesn't model nonbearing walls, therefore the wall assembly CANNOT be modeled correctly...
Are you looking for the graphic style and representation? Or the actual details themselves? As far as style, that's mostly for students or marketing... to students. Contractors can hardly read the drawings anyways.
I'll second the recommendations for the_donnies and building science fight club. And I'll add that Steve and Alexa Baczek share high-performance residential details at greenbuildingadvisor.com, and that the Journal of Light Construction's art team does a nice job with drawing details.
Is there some kind of manual for aesthetically pleasing construction details?
The construction details taught by my construction professors, while very useful, are not as nice as the ones I often see featured in those beautiful archdaily facade sections. I was wondering if there is some kind of manual on how to represent all the elements into a section. Or if it's just a matter of researching and studying a lot of offices and their way of representation. If so, please provide either a guide or some offices/studios worth looking into for this.
Thanks for your answers beforehand :)
You answered your own question here: "Or if it's just a matter of researching and studying a lot"
Helps to understand a bit about construction too.
First construction details are not about aesthetic appeal in itself. A building is a three-dimensional composition of components or you can say design elements. The arrangement of the windows and doors for example is the composition of shapes on a two-dimensional surface or facade. Understand the principles of composition when it comes to composing the elements on this three-dimensional canvas that is the building. You need to synthesize the many aspects of what you learn, not just what is in the class but throughout architectural education. When you produce technical details, remember to compose the white space. Did you not learn anything from art 2d composition course or class sessions? Same idea. Don't clutter. Balance the details and learn to use proper line weights in the CAD tools you may be using. Mainly, it's about composing this information with clarity, good but appropriate spacing of the dimensions, and other textual information from the content so it's clear, uncluttered, and importantly legible. Appropriate font size, clear fonts yet using say, all cap lettering for various textual elements. This is part of architectural drafting and lettering principles. Apply the good principles learned back in the pre-computer era architectural drawings and apply them.
As N.S. said, there is a lot of research and studying but some of what you are saying is basically an art form like how you compose stuff like in desktop publishing and composing the information. It's not something you are going to synthesize from just one book or source. Try to keep things simple, balanced but not necessarily symmetrical. Keep legibility and just try to visualize how it's laid out. Leave enough white space so that it doesn't look or feel like it's mashing together like cluttery noise. Look at professionally prepared blueprints by architects.
Imagine you are a builder looking at the plans in non-ideal lighting. Remember, they are the primary users of the construction documents. When it comes to design concept proposal, it's about communicating to clients the design. So, you're not really going to be getting into full technical detail of construction details so you want to show less technical noise for stuff presented to clients but the stuff for the contractor, you need to communicate sufficient amount of information, as clear and succinctly as possible so they can do their job. No more no less.
BalkinsGPT at it again
If needed I can offer my 'consolidation services' on a case by case basis for any 'verbose' posts that users would like to have summarized. My fee is $5 per 500 words. I will also accept drawings of aesthetically pleasing details.
There is an elegance to all things formal or graphic.
Almost without fail though, clients don't want to pay for elegance of process, only resulting product. And GC's don't care about docs until it starts to affect their work.
So, it is an individual satisfaction to produce architectural documentation that is visually satisfying. Some firms put out great looking docs, few are elegant.
I knew an architect that said he didn't believe in using line weights or spending more than an hour on any drawing. He produced unclear drawings and his built work was horrible.
Chad, going through that with a arch in the office at the moment. Keeps saying it's not possible, too hard, yadada, because revit... yet makes al sorts of other firs-year mistakes. Still laments that revit should do all this stuff for you. Dude... on the same 1:10 detail, you have bold concrete, and light concrete oulines... both are in section? How did you fuck that one?
Yup. Line weights are not hard to do.
also, why are all your wall cut hatches set to steel? Great, just what we need, a 300mm thick solid steel wall hatch everywhere because dude can't figure out wall assemblies.
Clearly this is for durability and sound isolation. Duh! Thermal bridging ::pfffft:: don't worry 'bout it!
Hey, is paint a structural item? \
Yes. Also that's a load bearing poster . . .
Metal building with exposed metal studs @ interior & insulated metal panels; no interior finish or insulation. ONLY structural can model metal studs but structural doesn't model nonbearing walls, therefore the wall assembly CANNOT be modeled correctly...
Them sound like fightin' words atelier nobody. I hope you didn't hurt them too badly.
So changing my title block 50 time’s obsessively to look graphically satisfying isn’t going to get me that new corvette stingray?! Damn it.
Only if your client will pay for all those changes x-jla. ;)
X, better ask for a vintage ray instead. It’ll look nicer.
Are you looking for the graphic style and representation? Or the actual details themselves? As far as style, that's mostly for students or marketing... to students. Contractors can hardly read the drawings anyways.
Some great drawing resources tho:
the_donnies on instagram is great: https://www.instagram.com/the_...
Also Detail Magazine: https://www.detail.de/en/de_en...
The Magazine's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deta...
https://instagram.com/buildingsciencefightclub
I'll second the recommendations for the_donnies and building science fight club. And I'll add that Steve and Alexa Baczek share high-performance residential details at greenbuildingadvisor.com, and that the Journal of Light Construction's art team does a nice job with drawing details.
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