Architectural drawing

The Concertgebouw (concert hall) in Amsterdam, by Adolf Leonard van Gendt, illustration published 1888.

Definition
An architectural drawing or architect's drawing is a technical drawing of a building (or building
project) that falls within the definition of architecture. 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. Architectural drawings are drawn according to a set of conventions,
which include particular views (floor plan, section etc.), sheet sizes, units of measurement and
scales, annotation and cross referencing. Conventionally, drawings were made in ink on paper or
a similar material, and any copies required had to be laboriously made by hand. The twentieth
century saw a shift to drawing on tracing paper, so that mechanical copies could be run off
efficiently. The development of the computer had a major impact on the methods used to design
and create technical drawings making manual draughting almost obsolete, and opening up new
possibilities of form using organic shapes and complex geometry. Today the vast majority of
drawings are computer generated.
Sketches and diagrams

Sketch of a building & Diagram of an arch.

A sketch is a rapidly executed freehand drawing, a quick way to record and develop an idea, not
intended as a finished work. A diagram may also be drawn freehand but deals with symbols, to
develop the logic of a design. Both may be worked up into a more presentable form and used to
communicate the principles of a design. In architecture, the finished work is expensive and time
consuming, so it is important to resolve the design as fully as possible before construction work
begins. Complex modern buildings involve a large team of different specialist disciplines, and
communication at the early design stages is essential to keep the design moving towards a
coordinated outcome. Architects (and other designers) start investigating a new design with
sketches and diagrams, to develop a rough design that provides an adequate response to the
particular design problems. There are two basic elements to a building design, the aesthetic and
the practical. The aesthetic element includes the layout and visual appearance, the anticipated
feel of the materials, and cultural references that will influence the way people perceive the
building. Practical concerns include space allocated for different activities, how you enter and
move around the building, daylight and artificial lighting, acoustics, traffic noise, legal matters
and building codes, and many other issues. While both aspects are partly a matter of customary
practice, every site is different. Many architects actively seek innovation, thereby increasing the
number of problems to be resolved. Architectural legend often refers to designs made on the
back of an envelope/napkin/cigarette packet. Initial thoughts are important, even if they have to
be discarded along the way, because they provide the central idea around which the design can
develop. Although a sketch is inaccurate, it is disposable and allows for freedom of thought, for
trying different ideas quickly. Choice becomes sharply reduced once the design is committed to a
scale drawing, and the sketch stage is almost always essential. Diagrams are mainly used to
resolve practical matters. In the early phases of the design architects use diagrams to develop,
explore, and communicate ideas and solutions. They are essential tools for thinking, problem
solving, and communication in the design disciplines. Design is ultimately about the
configurations, connections, shape, and orientations of physical forms. Diagrams can be used to
resolve spatial relationships, but they can also represent forces and flows, e.g. the forces of sun
and wind, or the flows of people and materials through a building. An exploded view shows
component parts dis-assembled in some way, so that each can be seen on its own. These views
are common in technical manuals, but are also used in architecture, either in conceptual diagrams
or to illustrate technical details. In a cutaway view parts of the exterior are omitted to show the
interior, or details of internal construction. "The convention of the rough architectural cutaway
can be used to create a more intense dialogue between exterior and interior." (this kind of
drawing may be more visually interesting than the building it describes). Although common in
technical illustration, the cutaway is in fact little used in architectural drawing. It is used mainly
as 3D sketches to illustrate and expand on formal construction details.
Size and scale
The size of drawings reflects the materials available and the size that is convenient to transport –
rolled up or folded, laid out on a table, or pinned up on a wall. The draughting process may
impose limitations on the size that is realistically workable. Sizes are determined by a consistent
paper size system, according to local usage. Normally the largest paper size used in modern
architectural practice is ISO A0 (841 × 1189mm) or in the USA Arch E (762 × 1067mm),
although there is a Large E size (915 x 1220mm) which does not have an ISO equivalent.
Architectural drawings are drawn to scale, so that relative sizes are correctly represented. The
scale is chosen both to ensure the whole building will fit on the chosen sheet size, and to show
the required amount of detail. At the scale of one eighth of an inch to one foot (1/96th) or the
metric equivalent 1 to 100, walls are typically shown as simple outlines corresponding to the
overall thickness. At a larger scale, half an inch to one foot (1/24th) or the nearest common
metric equivalent 1 to 20, the layers of different materials that make up the wall construction are
shown. Construction details are drawn to a larger scale, in some cases full size (1 to 1 scale).
Scale drawings enable dimensions to be 'read' off the drawing, i.e. measured directly. Imperial
scales (feet and inches), while lacking the simple logic of the metric system, are equally readable
using an ordinary ruler. On a one-eights inch to one foot scale drawing, the one-eighth divisions
on the ruler can be read off as feet. Architects normally use a scale ruler with different scales
marked on each edge. A third method, used by builders in estimating, is to measure directly off
the drawing and multiply by the scale factor. Dimensions can be measured off drawings made on
a stable medium such as vellum. All processes of reproduction introduce small errors, especially
now that different copying methods mean that the same drawing may be re-copied or copies
made in several different ways. Consequently dimensions need to be written ('figured') on the
drawing. The disclaimer "Do not scale off dimensions" is commonly inscribed on architects
drawings, to guard against errors arising in the copying process.
Standard views used in architectural drawing

Standard views used in architects' drawings.

Floor plan

Principal floor plans of the Queen's House, Greenwich (UK).

A floor plan is the most fundamental architectural diagram, a view from above showing the
arrangement of spaces in building in the same way as a map, but showing the arrangement at a
particular level of a building. Technically it is a horizontal section cut though a building
(conventionally at three feet / one metre above floor level), showing walls, window and door
openings and other features at that level. The plan view includes anything that could be seen
below that level: the floor, stairs (but only up to the plan level), fittings and sometimes furniture.
Objects above the plan level (e.g. beams overhead) can be indicated as dotted lines.
Geometrically, plan view is defined as a vertical orthographic projection of an object on to a
horizontal plane, with the horizontal plane cutting through the building.
Site plan

Site plan of the proposed Chicago Spire by Santiago Calatrava.

A site plan is a specific type of plan, showing the whole context of a building or group of
buildings. A site plan shows property boundaries and means of access to the site, and nearby
structures if they are relevant to the design. For a development on an urban site, the site plan may
need to show adjoining streets to demonstrate how the design fits in to the urban fabric. Within
the site boundary, the site plan gives an overview of the entire scope of work. It shows the
buildings (if any) already existing and those that are proposed, usually as a building footprint;
roads, parking lots, footpaths, hard landscaping, trees and planting. For a construction project,
the site plan also needs to show all the services connections: drainage and sewer lines, water
supply, electrical and communications cables, exterior lighting etc. Site plans are commonly
used to represent a building proposal prior to detailed design: drawing up a site plan is a tool for
deciding both the site layout and the size and orientation of proposed new buildings. A site plan
is used to verify that a proposal complies with local development codes, including restrictions on
historical sites. In this context the site plan forms part of a legal agreement, and there may be a
requirement for it to be drawn up by a licenced professional: architect, engineer, landscape
architect or land surveyor.

Elevation
 Elevation of the principal façade of the Panthéon, Paris

An elevation is a view of a building seen from one side, a flat representation of one façade. This
is the most common view used to describe the external appearance of a building. Each elevation
is labelled in relation to the compass direction it faces, e.g. the north elevation of a building is the
side that most closely faces north. Buildings are rarely a simple rectangular shape in plan, so a
typical elevation may show all the parts of the building that are seen from a particular direction.
Geometrically, an elevation is a horizontal orthographic projection of an building on to a vertical
plane, the vertical plane normally being parallel to one side of the building. Architects also use
the word elevation as a synonym for façade, so the north elevation is literally the north wall of
the building.

Cross section

Section drawing of the Observatorium at Potsdam.

A cross section, also simply called a section, represents a vertical plane cut through the object, in
the same way as a floor plan is a horizontal section viewed from the top. In the section view,
everything cut by the section plane is shown as a bold line, often with a solid fill to show objects
that are cut through, and anything seen beyond generally shown in a thinner line. Sections are
used to describe the relationship between different levels of a building. In the Observatorium
drawing illustrated here, the section shows the dome seen from the outside, a second dome that
can only be seen inside the building, and the way the space between the two accommodates a
large astronomical telescope: relationships that would be difficult to understand from plans
alone. A sectional elevation is a combination of a cross section, with elevations of other parts of
the building seen beyond the section plane. Geometrically, an cross section is a horizontal
orthographic projection of an building on to a vertical plane, with the vertical plane cutting
through the building.

Isometric and axonometric projections

18th century axonometric plan, Port-Royal-des-Champs.

Isometric and axonometric projections are a simple way of representing a three dimensional
object, keeping the elements to scale and showing the relationship between several sides of the
same object, so that the complexities of a shape can be clearly understood. There is some
confusion about the terms isometric and axonometric. “Axonometric is a word that has been used
by architects for hundreds of years. Engineers use the word axonometric as a generic term to
include isometric, diametric and trimetric drawings.” This article uses the terms in the
architecture-specific sense. Despite fairly complex geometrical explanations, for the purposes of
practical draughting the difference between isometric and axonometric is simple (see diagram
above). In both, the plan is drawn on a skewed or rotated grid, and the verticals are projected
vertically on the page. All lines are drawn to scale so that relationships between elements are
accurate. In many cases a different scale is required for different axes, and again this can be
calculated but in practice was often simply estimated by eye.

• An isometric uses a plan grid at 30 degrees from the horizontal in both directions, which
distorts the plan shape. Isometric graph paper can be used to construct this kind of
drawing. This view is useful to explain construction details (e.g. three dimensional joints
in joinery). The isometric was the standard view until the mid twentieth century,
remaining popular until the 1970s, especially for textbook diagrams and illustrations.
• Cabinet projection is similar, but only one axis is skewed, the others being horizontal and
vertical. Originally used in cabinet making, the advantage is that a principal side (e.g. a
cabinet front) is displayed without distortion, so only the less important sides are skewed.
The lines leading away from the eye are drawn at a reduced scale to lessen the degree of
 distortion. The cabinet projection is seen in Victorian engraved advertisements and
architectural textbook but has virtually disappeared from general use.
• An axonometric uses a 45 degree plan grid, which keeps the original orthogonal
geometry of the plan. The great advantage of this view for architecture is that the
draughtsman can work directly from a plan, without having to reconstruct it on a skewed
grid. In theory the plan should be set at 45 degrees, but this introduces confusing
coincidences where opposite corners align. Unwanted effects can be avoided by rotating
the plan while still projecting vertically. This is sometimes called a planometric or plan
oblique view. and allows freedom to choose any suitable angle to present the most useful
view of an object.

Traditional draughting techniques used 30-60 and 45 degree set squares, and that determined the
angles used in these views. Once the adjustable square became common those limitations were
lifted. The axonometric gained in popularity in the twentieth century, not just as a convenient
diagram but as a formal presentation technique, adopted in particular by the Modern Movement.
Axonometric drawings feature prominently in the influential 1970's drawings of Michael Graves,
James Stirling and others, using not only straightforward views but worms-eye view, unusually
and exaggerated rotations of the plan, and exploded elements. The axonometric view is not
readily generated by CAD programmes, which work best by generating a view from a three
dimensional model. Consequently it is now little used except to illustrate relatively simple
construction details.

Detail drawings

Detail drawings show a small part of the construction at a larger scale, to show how the
component parts fit together. They are also used to show small surface details, for example
decorative elements. Section drawings at large scale are a standard way of showing building
construction details, typically showing complex junctions (such as floor to wall junction, window
openings, eaves and roof apex) that cannot be clearly shown on a drawing that includes the full
height of the building. A full set of construction details needs to show plan details as well as
vertical section details. One detail is seldom produced in isolation: a set of details shows the
information needed to understand the construction in three dimensions. Typical scales for details
are 1/10, 1/5 and full size. In traditional construction, many details were so fully standardised,
that few detail drawings were required to construct a building. For example, the construction of a
sash window would be left to the carpenter, who would fully understand what was required, but
unique decorative details of the facade would be drawn up in detail. In contrast, modern
buildings need to be fully detailed because of the proliferation of different products, methods and
possible solutions.

Architectural perspective
 Two point perspective, interior of Dercy House by Robert Adam, 1777.

J M Gandy's aerial view of the Bank of England, as rebuilt by Sir John Soane, 1830.

Perspective in drawing is an approximate representation on a flat surface of an image as it is

perceived by the eye. The key concepts here are:

• Perspective is the view from a particular fixed viewpoint.

• Horizontal and vertical edges in the object are represented by horizontals and verticals in
the drawing.
• Lines leading away into the distance appear to converge at a vanishing point.
• All horizontals converge to a point on the horizon, which is a horizontal line at eye level.
• Verticals converge to a point either above or below the horizon.

The basic categorization of artificial perspective is by the number of vanishing points:

• One-point perspective where objects facing the viewer are orthogonal, and receding lines
converge to a single vanishing point.
• Two-point perspective reduces distortion by viewing objects at an angle, with all the
horizontal lines receding to one of two vanishing points, both located on the horizon.
• Three-point perspective introduces additional realism by making the verticals recede to a
third vanishing point, which is above or below depending upon whether the view is seen
from above or below.

Three-point perspective gives a casual, photographic snapshot effect. In professional

architectural photography, conversely, a perspective control lens is used to eliminate the third
vanishing point, so that all the verticals are vertical on the photograph. Aerial perspective is a
technique in painting, for indicating distance by approximating the effect of the atmosphere on
distant objects. In daylight, as an ordinary object gets further from the eye, its contrast with the
background is reduced, its colour saturation is reduced, and its colour becomes more blue. Not to
be confused with aerial view or bird's eye view, which is the view as seen (or imagined) from a
high vantage point. In J M Gandy's perspective (see illustration above) of the Bank of England,
Gandy portrayed the building as a picturesque ruin in order to show the internal plan
arrangement, a precursor of the cutaway view. A montage image is produced by superimposing a
perspective image of a building on to a photographic background. Care is needed to record the
position from which the photograph was taken, and to generate the perspective using the same
viewpoint. This technique is popular in computer visualisation, where the building can be
photorealistically rendered, and the final image is intended to be almost indistinguishable from a
photograph.

Types of architectural drawing

Architectural drawings are produced for a specific purpose, and can be classified accordingly.
Several elements are often included on the same sheet, for example a sheet showing a plan
together with the principal façade.

Presentation drawings

Drawings intended to explain a scheme and to promote its merits. Working drawings may
include tones or hatches to emphasise different materials, but they are diagrams, not intended to
appear realistic. Basic presentation drawings typically include people, vehicles and trees, taken
from a library of such images, and are otherwise very similar in style to working drawings.
Rendering is the art of adding surface textures and shadows to show the visual qualities of a
building more realistically. An architectural illustrator or graphic designer may be employed to
prepare specialist presentation images, usually perspectives or highly finished site plans, floor
plans and elevations etc.

Survey drawings

Measured drawings of existing land, structures and buildings. Architects need an accurate set of
survey drawings as a basis for their working drawings, to establish exact dimensions for the
construction work. Surveys are usually measured and drawn up by specialist land surveyors.

Record drawings

Historically, architects have made record drawings in order to understand and emulate the great
architecture known to them. In the Renaissance, architects from all over Europe studied and
recorded the remains of the Roman and Greek civilizations, and used these influences to develop
the architecture of the period. Records are made both individually, for local purposes, and on a
large scale for publication. Historic surveys worth referring to include:

• Colen Campbell's Vitruvius Brittanicus, illustrations of English buildings by Inigo Jones

and Sir Christopher Wren, as well as Campbell himself and other prominent architects of
the era.
• The Survey of London, founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee and now available
through English Heritage. A record of notable streets and individual buildings in the
former County of London.
• Historic American Buildings Survey, records of notable buildings drawn up during the
1930’s Depression, this collection is held by the Library of Congress and is available
copyright-free on the internet.

Record drawings are also used in construction projects, where "as-built" drawings of the
completed building take account of all the variations made during the course of construction.

Working drawings
A comprehensive set of drawings used in a building construction project: these will include not
only architect's drawings but structural and services engineer's drawings etc. Working drawings
logically subdivide into location, assembly and component drawings.

• Location drawings, also called general arrangement drawings, include floor plans,
sections and elevations: they show where the construction elements are located.
• Assembly drawings show how the different parts are put together. For example a wall
detail will show the layers that make up the construction, how they are fixed to structural
elements, how to finish the edges of openings, and how prefabricated components are to
be fitted.
• Component drawings enable self-contained elements e.g. windows and doorsets, to be
fabricated in a workshop, and delivered to site complete and ready for installation. Larger
components may include roof trusses, cladding panels, cupboards and kitchens. Complete
rooms, especially hotel bedrooms and bathrooms, may be made as prefabricated pods
complete with internal decorations and fittings.

Drafting
Until the latter part of the twentieth century, all architectural drawings were manually produced,
either by architects or by trained (but less skilled) draughtsmen (or drafters), who did not
generate the design, although they made many of the important lesser decisions. This system
continues with CAD draughting: many design architects have little or no knowledge of CAD
software programmes and rely upon others to take their designs beyond the sketch stage.
Draughtsmen may specialize in a type of structure, such as residential or commercial, or in a type
of construction: timber frame, reinforced concrete, prefabrication etc.

The traditional tools of the architect were the drawing board or draughting table, T-square and
set squares, protractor, compasses, pencil and drawing pens of different types.[11] Drawings were
made on vellum, coated linen, and on tracing paper. Lettering would either be done by hand,
mechanically using a stencil, or a combination of the two. Ink lines were drawn with a ruling
pen, a relatively sophisticated device similar to a dip-in pen but with adjustable line width,
capable of producing a very fine controlled line width. Ink pens had to be dipped into ink
frequently. Draughtsmen worked standing up, and kept the ink on a separate table to avoid
spilling ink on the drawing.Twentieth century developments include the parallel motion drawing
board, and more complicated improvements on the basic T-square. The development of reliable
technical drawing pens allowed for faster draughting and stencilled lettering. Letraset dry
transfer lettering and half-tone sheets were popular from the 1970s until computers made those
processes obsolete.

Architectural reprographics
Reprographics or reprography covers a variety of technologies, media, and support services used
to make multiple copies of original drawings. Prints of architectural drawings are still sometimes
called blueprints, after one of the early processes which produced a white line on blue paper. The
process was superseded by the dye-line print system which prints black on white coated paper.
The standard modern processes are the ink-jet printer, laser printer and photocopier, of which
only the ink-jet is commonly used for large-format printing. Although colour printing is now
commonplace and inexpensive, architect's drawings still tend to adhere to the black and white /
greyscale aesthetic.
Computer-aided architectural design

Computer generated perspective of the Moscow School of Management, by David Adjaye

Computer-aided architectural design (CAAD) software is the repository of accurate and

comprehensive records of buildings and are used by architects and architectural companies. The
first program was installed back in the 1960’s, to help architects save time instead of drawing
their blueprints. Computer-aided design (CAD) was originally the type of program that architects
used, but since CAD couldn’t offer all the tools that architects needed to complete a project,
CAAD developed as a distinct class of software. Architectural animation is usually a short
architectural movie created on a computer. A computer-generated building(s) is created along
with landscaping and sometimes moving people and vehicles. Unlike an architectural rendering,
which is a single image from a single camera point of view, an architectural animation is a series
of hundreds or even thousands of still images made by a moving camera.

Structural Drawing
Structural steel
Structural steel is steel construction material, a profile, formed with a specific shape or cross
section and certain standards of chemical composition and strength. Structural steel shape, size,
composition, strength, storage, etc, is regulated in most industrialized countries. Structural steel
members, such as I-beams, have high second moments of area, which allow them to be very stiff
in respect to their cross-sectional area.

A steel I-beam, in this case used to support wood beams in a house.

Structural steel in construction: A primed steel beam is holding up the floor above, which
consists of a metal deck (Q-Deck), upon which a concrete slab has been poured.
 Steel beam through-penetration with incomplete fireproofing.

Metal deck and OWSJ (Open Web Steel Joist), receiving first coat of spray fireproofing
plaster, made of polystyrene leavened gypsum.

Standard structural steels (Europe)

Most steels used throughout Europe are specified to comply with the European standard EN
10025. However, many national standards also remain in force.

Typical grades are described as 'S275J2' or 'S355K2W'. In these examples, 'S' denotes structural
rather than engineering steel; 275 or 355 denotes the yield strength in newtons per square
millimetre or the equivalent megapascals; J2 or K2 denotes the materials toughness by reference
to Charpy impact test values; and the 'W' denotes weathering steel. Further letters can be used to
designate normalized steel ('N' or 'NL'); quenched and tempered steel ('Q' or 'QL'); and
thermomechanically rolled steel ('M' or 'ML').

The normal yield strength grades available are 195, 235, 275, 355, 420, and 460, although some
grades are more commonly used than others e.g. in the UK, almost all structural steel is grades
S275 and S355. Higher grades are available in quenched and tempered material (500, 550, 620,
690, 890 and 960 - although grades above 690 receive little if any use in construction at present).

Standard structural steels (USA)

Steels used for building construction in the US use standard alloys identified and specified by
ASTM International. These steels have an alloy identification beginning with A and then two,
three, or four numbers. The four-number AISI steel grades commonly used for mechanical
engineering, machines, and vehicles are a completely different specification series.

Thermal properties

The properties of steel vary widely, depending on its alloying elements. The austenizing
temperature, the temperature where a steel transforms to an austenite crystal structure, for steel
starts at 900°C for pure iron, then, as more carbon is added, the temperature falls to a minimum
724°C for eutectic steel (steel with only .83% by weight of carbon in it). As 2.1% carbon (by
mass) is approached, the austenizing temperature climbs back up, to 1130°C. Similarly, the
melting point of steel changes based on the alloy. The lowest temperature at which a plain
carbon steel can begin to melt, its solidus, is 1130 °C. Steel never turns into a liquid below this
temperature. Pure Iron ('Steel' with 0% Carbon) starts to melt at 1492 °C (2720 °F), and is
completely liquid upon reaching 1539 °C (2802 °F). Steel with 2.1% Carbon by weight begins
melting at 1130 °C (2066 °F), and is completely molten upon reaching 1315 °C (2400 °F). 'Steel'
with more than 2.1% Carbon is no longer Steel, but is known as Cast iron.

Fireproofing of structural steel

In order for a fireproofing product to qualify for a certification listing of structural steel, through
a fire test, the critical temperature is set by the national standard, which governs the test. In
Japan, this is below 400°C. In China, Europe and North America, it is set at ca. 540°C. The time
it takes for the steel element that is being tested to reach the temperature set by the national
standard determines the duration of the fire-resistance rating. Care must be taken to ensure that
thermal expansion of structural elements does not damage fire-resistance rated wall and floor
assemblies. Penetrants in a firewalls and ferrous cable trays in organic firestops should be
installed in accordance with an appropriate certification listing that complies with the local
building code. Open Web Steel Joists (OWSJ) require a great deal of spray fireproofing because
they are not very massive and also because they are so open, that a lot of the sprayed plaster flies
right past its constituent parts during the coating process. Structural steel requires external
insulation (fireproofing) in order to prevent the steel from weakening in the event of a fire. When
heated, steel expands and softens, eventually losing its structural integrity. Given enough energy,
it can also melt. Heat transfer to the steel can be slowed by the use of fireproofing materials.
While concrete structures that comprise buildings are able to achieve fire-resistance ratings
without additional fireproofing, concrete can be subject to severe spalling, particularly if it has an
elevated moisture content. Fireproofing is available for concrete but this is typically not used in
buildings. Instead, it is used in traffic tunnels and locations where a hydrocarbon fire is likely to
break out. Thus, steel and concrete compete against one another not only on the basis of the price
per unit of mass but also on the basis of the pricing for the fireproofing that must be added in
order to satisfy the passive fire protection requirements that are mandated through building
codes.

Structural Steel Drawing

 Figure A Typical Steel Floor Design Plan

Structural steel drawings are ordinarily one of two types: engineering design drawings made by
the design engineer, and manufacturing (shop) drawing usually made by the steel fabricator.
Design drawings show the overall dimensions of the structure, such as the location of columns,
beams, angles, and sizes of these members. Detail in the form of typical cross sections, special
connections required, and various notes are also included. For example, a building floor plan
shows the steel columns in cross section and the beam or girder framing using single heavy lines,
as shown in Figure A. Members framing from column to column, providing end support for
other beams, are called girders, while smaller beams framing between girders are called filler
beams. The designer’s plans are sent to the steel fabricator who will furnish the steel for the job.
From these plans the fabricator makes the necessary detailed shop drawings and erection plans.
Before shop works begins, the fabricator’s drawings are sent to the design engineer for final
checking and approval. The design engineer is the authority who makes any changes necessary
to ensure the required strength and safety of the connections. Once the fabricator receives shop
drawings approved by the engineer, the shop work can begin.

Shop drawings consist of detail drawings of all parts of the entire structure, showing exactly how
the parts are to be made. These drawings show all dimensions necessary for fabrication, usually
calculated to the nearest 1/16”. They also show the location of all holes needed for connections,
the details of connection parts, and the required sizes of all material. Notes specify fabrication or
construction methods on the detail drawings whenever such items are not covered by separate
written specification. Fabrication, shop methods, and field construction methods, must be fully
understood by the detailer. The design details and connections is an important part of the
engineering structure. The connections of the various members must be sufficient to transmit the
forces in these members. Connection details should be drawn to scale in order toshow connection
clearly. Break lines can be very useful. Show all necessary dimensions. Measurements should
never be made from detail drawing by the shop or in the field by the workers making the piece.
Erection Plans

Erection plans made by the steel fabricator are assembly drawing for the steel structure. They
show how the steel parts fit together. The piece marks of the individual members are shown on
the erection plan to make it easy to identify individual parts. Only show as much detail as needed
so that a skilled worker can assemble the parts. The detail drawings fully describe each member
and how it connects, so this information is not needed in the erection plan. Line diagrams shows
the steel members using heavy straight lines. When the assembly is complex, more detail is
needed. Draw the assembly views to scale. Like detail shop drawings, workers should never
measure from the drawing to obtain dimensions. Use notes on these drawings to indicate how the
structure is to be assembled. Cross sections of structural steel shapes are given in Figure B. An
erection plan for the roof steel framing on a building addition is shown in Figure C. Tis structure
is for a paper roofing products pulp mill. New steel is shown by fully lines. Existing roof
members are shown in sectional views. The timber framing for the support of large roof
ventilators is also shown.

Structural Steel Shapes

Structural steel is available in many standard shapes that are formed by the mill by rolling steel
billets under high temperatures. Here are some of the available shapes: square, flat, round bars,
plates, equal-leg and unequal-leg angles, American Standard and miscellaneous channel; S, W,
M, and HP shapes for beams, columns, and bearing piles; structural tees mill cut from W, S, or
M shapes; and standard strong and extra strong pipe and tubing in square, rectangular, or circular
cross sections. Figure B shows some typical cross sections of these shapes and how they are
designated or listed in the bill of materials. Use the correct designation on both the design and
the detailed drawings every place the structural members appears. For example, designate a wide
flange section of 14” nominal depth, weighing 53 lb per ft and having an overall length of 26”-2
1/8” as W14 × 53 × 26”-2 1/8”.Most CAD programs have structural shape symbol libraries
available. Templates are also available to save time in drawing structural symbols if you are
drawing by hand.

Reinforced concrete
 Reinforced concrete at Sainte Jeanne d'Arc Church (Nice, France): architect Jacques Dror, 1926–1933

Reinforced concrete is concrete in which steel reinforcement bars ("rebars"), plates or fibers have
been incorporated to strengthen a material that would otherwise be brittle.

Use in construction

Concrete is reinforced to give it extra tensile strength; without reinforcement, many concrete
buildings would not have been possible. Reinforced concrete can encompass many types of
structures and components, including slabs, walls, beams, columns, foundations, frames and
more. Reinforced concrete can be classified as precast concrete and cast in-situ concrete. Much
of the focus on reinforcing concrete is placed on floor systems. Designing and implementing the
most efficient floor system is key to creating optimal building structures. Small changes in the
design of a floor system can have significant impact on material costs, construction schedule,
ultimate strength, operating costs, occupancy levels and end use of a building.

Behavior of reinforced concrete

Materials

Concrete is a mixture of cement (usually Portland cement) and stone aggregate. When mixed
with a small amount of water, the cement hydrates form microscopic opaque crystal lattices
encapsulating and locking the aggregate into a rigid structure. Typical concrete mixes have high
resistance to compressive stresses (about 4,000 psi (28 MPa)); however, any appreciable tension
(e.g. due to bending) will break the microscopic rigid lattice resulting in cracking and separation
of the concrete. For this reason, typical non-reinforced concrete must be well supported to
prevent the development of tension. If a material with high strength in tension, such as steel, is
placed in concrete, then the composite material, reinforced concrete, resists compression but also
bending, and other direct tensile actions. A reinforced concrete section where the concrete resists
the compression and steel resists the tension can be made into almost any shape and size for the
construction industry.

Key characteristics

Three physical characteristics give reinforced concrete its special properties. First, the coefficient
of thermal expansion of concrete is similar to that of steel, eliminating internal stresses due to
differences in thermal expansion or contraction. Second, when the cement paste within the
concrete hardens this conforms to the surface details of the steel, permitting any stress to be
transmitted efficiently between the different materials. Usually steel bars are roughened or
corrugated to further improve the bond or cohesion between the concrete and steel. Third, the
alkaline chemical environment provided by calcium carbonate (lime) causes a passivating film to
form on the surface of the steel, making it much more resistant to corrosion than it would be in
neutral or acidic conditions. The relative cross-sectional area of steel required for typical
reinforced concrete is usually quite small and varies from 1% for most beams and slabs to 6% for
some columns. Reinforcing bars are normally round in cross-section and vary in diameter.
Reinforced concrete structures sometimes have provisions such as ventilated hollow cores to
control their moisture & humidity.

Anti-corrosion measures

In wet and cold climates, reinforced concrete for roads, bridges, parking structures and other
structures that may be exposed to deicing salt may benefit from use of epoxy-coated, hot dip
galvanised or stainless steel rebar, although good design and a well-chosen cement mix may
provide sufficient protection for many applications. Epoxy coated rebar can easily be identified
by the light green colour of its epoxy coating. Hot dip galvanized rebar may be bright or dull
grey depending on length of exposure, and stainless rebar exhibits a typical white metallic sheen
that is readily distinguishable from carbon steel reinforcing bar. Reference ASTM standard
specifications A767 Standard Specification for Hot Dip Galvanised Reinforcing Bars, A775
Standard Specification for Epoxy Coated Steel Reinforcing Bars and A955 Standard
Specification for Deformed and Plain Stainless Bars for Concrete Reinforcment

Another, cheaper way or protecting rebars is coating them with zinc phosphate.[2] Zinc phosphate
slowly reacts with the corroding agent (e.g., alkali) forming a stable hydroxyapatite layer.
Penetrating sealants typically must be applied some time after curing. Sealants include paint,
plastic foams, films and aluminum foil, felts or fabric mats sealed with tar, and layers of
bentonite clay, sometimes used to seal roadbeds.

Reinforcement and terminology

A beam bends under bending moment resulting in a small curvature. At the outer face (tensile
face) of the curvature the concrete experiences tensile stress while at the inner face (compressive
face) it experiences compressive stress. A "singly-reinforced" concrete means that the concrete
element is only reinforced near the tensile face and the reinforcement, called tension steel, is
designed to resist the tension. For reinforced concrete to function, tensile steel is mandatory. A
"doubly-reinforced" concrete means that beside the tensile reinforcement the concrete element is
also reinforced near the compressive face for assisting the concrete to resist compression. This
additional reinforcement is called compression steel. An "under-reinforced" concrete means that
the tension capacity of the tensile reinforcement is smaller than the combined compression
capacity of the concrete and the compression steel (under-reinforced at tensile face). When the
reinforced concrete element is subject to increasing bending moment, the tension steel yields
while the concrete does not reach its ultimate failure condition. As the tension steel yields and
stretches, an "under-reinforced" concrete also yields in a ductile manner, exhibiting a large
deformation and warning before its ultimate failure. An "over-reinforced" concrete means that
the tension capacity of the tension steel is greater than the combined compression capacity of the
concrete and the compression steel (over-reinforced at tensile face). An "over-reinforced"
element will fail suddenly, when the concrete fails brittle and crashes before yielding of the
tension steel. It is however possible to push the design of an "over-reinforced" concrete element
to "under-reinforced" concrete element by adding sufficient compression steel. There is however
a limit in the quantity of both tension and compression steel for practicality of placement of
reinforcement. Reinforced concrete elements should be designed to be under-reinforced so users
of the structure will receive warning of impending collapse.

Steel Plate Construction

In steel plate construction, stringers join parallel steel plates. The plate assemblies are fabricated
off site, and welded together on-site to form steel walls connected by stringers. The walls
become the form into which concrete is poured. Steel plate construction speeds reinforced
concrete construction by cutting out the time-consuming on-site manual steps of tying rebar and
building forms. The method has excellent strength because the steel is on the outside, where
tensile forces are often greatest.

Fiber-reinforced concrete

Fiber-reinforcement is mainly used in shotcrete, but can also be used in normal concrete. Fiber-
reinforced normal concrete are mostly used for on-ground floors and pavements, but can be
considered for a wide range of construction parts (beams, pilars, foundations etc) either alone or
with hand-tied rebars. Concrete reinforced with fibers (which are usually steel, glass or "plastic"
fibers) is less expensive than hand-tied rebar, while still increasing the tensile strength many
times. Shape, dimension and length of fiber is important. A thin and short fiber, for example
short hair-shaped glass fiber, will only be effective the first hours after pouring the concrete
(reduces cracking while the concrete is stiffening) but will not increase the concrete tensile
strength. A normal size fibre for European shotcrete (1 mm diameter, 45 mm length—steel or
"plastic") will increase the concrete tensile strength. Steel is the strongest commonly-available
fiber, and come in different lengths (30 to 80 mm in Europe) and shapes (end-hooks). Steel fibres
can only be used on surfaces that can tolerate or avoid corrosion and rust stains. In some cases, a
steel-fiber surface is faced with other materials. Glass fiber is inexpensive and corrosion-proof,
but not as ductile as steel. Recently, spun basalt fiber, long available in Eastern Europe, has
become available in the U.S. and Western Europe. Basalt fibre is stronger and less expensive
than glass, but historically, has not resisted the alkaline environment of portland cement well
enough to be used as direct reinforcement. New materials use plastic binders to isolate the basalt
fiber from the cement. The premium fibers are graphite reinforced plastic fibers, which are
nearly as strong as steel, lighter-weight and corrosion-proof. Some experimeters have had
promising early results with carbon nanotubes, but the material is still far too expensive for any
building.

Non-steel reinforcement

Some construction cannot tolerate the use of steel. For example, MRI machines have huge
magnets, and require nonmagnetic buildings. Another example are toll-booths that read radio
tags, and need reinforced concrete that is transparent to radio. In some instances, the lifetime of
the concrete structure is more important than its strength. Since corrosion is the main cause of
failure of reinforced concrete, a corrosion-proof reinforcement can extend a structure's life
substantially. For these purposes some structures have been constructed using fiber-reinforced
plastic rebar, grids or fibers. The "plastic" reinforcement can be as strong as steel. Because it
resists corrosion, it does not need a protective concrete cover of 30 to 50 mm or more as steel
reinforcement does. This means that FRP-reinforced structures can be lighter, have longer
lifetime and for some applications be price-competitive to steel-reinforced concrete. The main
barrier to use of FRP reinforcement is the fact that it is neither ductile nor fire resistant.
Structures employing FRP rebars may therefore exhibit a less ductile structural response, and
decreased fire resistance. However, the addition of short monofilament polypropylene fibers to
the concrete during mixing may have the beneficial effect of reducing spalling during a fire. In a
severe fire, such as the Channel Tunnel fire of 1996, conventionally reinforced concrete can
suffer severe spalling leading to failure. This is in part due to the pore water remaining within the
concrete boiling explosively; the steam pressure then causes the spalling. The action of fibers
within the concrete is due to their ability to melt, forming pathways out through the concrete,
allowing the steam pressure to dissipate.
Reinforced Concrete Drawing
The design of the reinforcing for a reinforced concrete structure and preparation of the
corresponding drawings are complicated. To simplify and to uniformity throughout engineering
offices, The American Concrete Institute (Detroit, MI) publishes a Manual of Standard Practice
for Detailing Reinforced Concrete Structures. The manual recommends the preparation of two
sets of drawings: an engineering drawing and a placing drawing. The engineering drawing is
prepared by the manufacturer that fabricates the reinforcing steel. It shows the general
arrangement of the structure, the sizes and reinforcements of the several members, and such
other information as may be necessary for the correct interpretation of the designer’s ideas. The
drawing is also used for making forms with the precise dimensions before placing the reinforcing
bars and casting concrete. The placing drawing shows the sizes and the shapes of the several
rods, stirrups, hoops, ties, and so on, and arranges them in tabular forms for reference by the
building contractor. An engineering drawing for a two-way slab and beam floor of a multistory
building is show in Figure D. Figure D shows the detail design drawing for a reinforce concrete
pier, on of the supporting members for a highway bridge. Note that the steel bars, eventhough
embedded, are shown fully lines and that concrete is always stippled in cross section. Unlike
shop drawings for structural steel, concrete drawings are ordinarily made in both directions.
Usually, a scale of ¼” to the foot is adequate, although when the structure is complicated, scale
of 3/8” or ½” to the foot may be used. Avoid a cluttered appearance (usually the result of
crowding the drawing with notes) by using tables and schedules for listing bar sizes and other
necessary data. Cover important points in a single set of notes as shown in Figure E.