photos can get you started--the farther away the better--have a person in the view near the base for reference. Look for horizontal courses on the facade that you can measure directly, then count/calculate these courses as they rise. also, http://www.bing.com/maps/ may help, using the "bird's eye" mode to get some oblique aerial views--good for seeing roof elements.

you can check with the city or county for site plans and maps. there might be a fee to get prints.

much as it pains me to do your homework a quick google turned up this link, which includes elevation drawings, though very small
great buildings

I would expct a good monograph of I.M. Pei's work from that period would include these drawings in a more legible form. Of course it is no substitute for going out there and counting bricks, but you don't have time for that so I am assuming your teacher intended you to work from published sources.

thanks for the quick responses

I dont know why I didnt think to use greatbuildings.com, I have used it every other time. They may be small but I was able to convert the image into a vector using illustrator and scale it up however big I want. Now I have accuracy! thanks guys

but seriously... i ran across this tutorial the other day and i wonder if it's useful/easy/accurate, or just a huge pain in the ass.

but seriously... i ran across this tutorial the other day and i wonder if it's useful/easy/accurate, or just a huge pain in the ass.

really cool tutorial evanc. looks like it would be helpful once I get the hang of it

hmm.. when I did this exercise as an undergrad it was Bethesda Terrace in Central park. And we actually did have to measure it with evanc's tool. I think that's the object of the exercise. Downloading the plans from google would defeat the purpose of the exercise. Dimensioning something big the old fashioned way makes one appreciate dimensions and scale ;)

Sorry to be archaic. but still.

..of course, we first had to walk it with a tape rule.