Architectural Drafting

Architectural Drafting:

Architectural Drafters draw architectural and structural features of buildings and other structures, and may specialize in a type of structure, such as residential or commercial. Drafters are involved in drawing the plans for many objects and are not limited to blueprints of buildings. They may use computer aided design tools like CAD to make plans for everything from a house to a tiny piece of electronic equipment.

Drafting and architecture are both essential parts of building design and construction, but they are definitely not one and the same. These two equally necessary parts of the process are usually done by different people and the two jobs, although they cross paths regularly, involve many different skills and responsibilities. The two people who take part in drafting and architecture, predictably, are drafters and architects.

Architectural Drafting is how to create working drawings and computer simulations used in the designs and construction of buildings, and other structures. Architects draft architectural design plans for use by the contractor who will actually construct the building. A drafting plan is necessary for the architect to convey important information to the contractor. There are techniques in drawing floor plans, elevations, sections, construction details, presentation drawings, and model making are some of the areas covered through the hands-on experience. Today's architects draw up the plans using a computer software program, then print the plans and give them to construction contractors, who read the blueprints and follow the plans to construct the intended building.

Computer Aided Graphics is a big help in Architecture because it’s faster. Drawings are easier and faster to be visualized. Also it is easy to change, add, and delete a certain part of a drawing as it is just one click away. Drawings and presentations are easier. Also collaborations between different designers are applicable as everybody could change the drawing in the computer.

Without CAD, an architect can use existing designs, but must physically trace them, then erase and redraw lines to conform the template’s design to this specific client’s needs. These extra tasks introduce potentially more errors into the final design, not to mention greatly increasing the time needed to produce that design.

Architectural drawings are used by architects and others for a number of purposes: to develop a design idea into a coherent proposal, to communicate ideas and concepts, to convince clients of the merits of a design, to enable a building contractor to construct it, as a record of the completed work, and to make a record of a building that already exists. Architects can also direct their CAD program to make the pictorial drawing photorealistic, which is extremely difficult and time-consuming for an architect using manual tools to achieve.