Spatial Diagrams

• Tape a piece of trace paper to the desk and draw a bubble diagram. A bubble diagram is basically just ovals drawn freely. Bubble diagrams help the architect to determine where private, semi-private and public spaces should be located. Private spaces my include office rooms or storage areas. Semi-private spaces include corridors within a building and foyers within an office. Public spaces may include areas such as an atrium or lobby. Draw ovals on a piece of trace paper to plan the flow of movement and to determine where public, semi-private, and private spaces should go.
  
  

Rough Draft

• Tape another sheet of trace paper over the bubble diagram and use it to draw the walls as a floor plan. Always use 90-degree angles for rooms. Only a very experienced architect should draw a postmodern design with angled walls. Use an architect's scale and a mechanical drafting pencil to draw the rooms in proportion to one another. Measurements should also remain in proportion to the completed building. There should be a plan for each differing floor design of the building. Some floors may be completely alike. When deciding where walls should go, think about the structural component of the building's design. Columns are used as structural members, and walls are load bearing sometimes as well. Draw and sketch on a few pieces of trace until you are satisfied with the layout. Determine a good flow of traffic throughout the building. Spaces should flow from public to private.
  
  

Finalized Drawings

• For the final drawing, tape one more sheet of trace over the rough draft. Use a drafting triangle to draw the walls on the floor plan with ink. Use a very thin art pen. Tape two pennies to the bottom of the triangle to prevent smudging. Use two parallel lines to illustrate the thickness of the walls. Once the plan is drawn, draw a section. A section is a drawing that cuts through the middle of the building. Use the section to illustrate how the walls should appear from the inside. Draw a section for each differing level of the building. Draw an elevation. An elevation is what the building should look like from the outside. Put the floor plan at the top of your table and draw lines extending downwards from the plan. Draw the section and elevation using these lines as guides. Consider the placement of windows and structural details in the section. Consider the look of the building from the outside when drawing the elevation.