DrawingaSimpleBuilding

Description

Inthis activity the teacherwill give anintroduction to theprinciplesofdesigningand drawingasimple structure. This activity is anopportunity for students to think throughthe basic practicalandaesthetic considerationsof thedesign process.

LessonObjectives

The student willbeableto:

•Identify and itemize design characteristics

•Sketch out the ideas on paper in near scale

•Drawout a simplebuildingbased on thedefinedspacelimitations

•Design a simplebuildingusingthepredefinedtemplatecreatedintheSymbolsandStandards activity,or designasimplebuilding from scratch

•Plotto fit thedrawingtoletter-sizedpaper

Assumptions

The student will:

•Knowhow tologin toa computer and openup thesoftware

•Knowhowtosavethedrawingas a named file intheirown directory

•Havebeen introduced tothe basicdrawing commands fordrawing 2Dobjects

Terminology

Borderlines: thick, dark lines used tocreatea solidborderaroundablankpage.

Cardinaldirection:from theoriginof anystartingpoint, alinecanbedrawninthecardinaldirections:North, South,East, and West (Figure 1).In AutoCAD, Eastis the0°(zero)direction,Northis the90° direction, West is the 180° direction,andSouthis the 270° direction. Onecandraw angled linesin negative directionsas well.Forexample,–90°isthesame as270°.

Figure1—Cardinaldirections

Design:aplanordrawingproducedtoshowthelookandfunctionorworkingsofa building,garment,orotherobjectbeforeitisbuiltor made.

Floorplan:ascaledrawingofthearrangementofabuilding.

Plot:tosetupyour drawingtoprinttoafileorpaper.

Polyline:acontinuouslinethatismadeupofconnectedlinesegments.

Scale:adrawingthatisenlargedorreducedfromitsoriginal size,usuallyexpressedasafractioninimperialmeasurement(e.g.,1/16to1')andasaratioinmetricmeasurement(e.g.,1:50,where

1mminthedrawing equates to50mmintheactual work).

Spline:alinetypethatdrawscurvedlinesinnon-specificcurvesfrompointtopoint.They aremadeupofarcsthatgothroughsmall,continuouspointsalongthelineuntilthesplineisfinished.They areoftenusedfortopographymapswherespecific elevations andtheirlocationsareknownandacurvedlinecanconnectpointsonthesameelevation.

EstimatedTime

4 hours

RecommendedNumberofStudents

20, basedonBCTechnologyEducators’Best PracticeGuide

Facilities

ComputerlabinstalledwithCADsoftware(Google SketchUp,AutoCAD, Cadopia, Vector works,etc.)and Internetaccess

Tools

Projector withcomputer and speakers installedwithCADsoftware

Materials

Student activitywithinstructions

Resources

Instructionalvideo for teacher and students to follow:

•12.1:Drawing theExternalWalls of aBuilding

•12.2:PlacingArchitecturalBlocks into aDrawing

•12.3:Scaling YourBorder andDimensioning aFloor Plan

Architecturalanddesignjournals:

TheFrankLloydWrightFoundation

DesignBoomArchitecture

A/NBlog(ArchitectsNewspaper)

designed-sailboat/#.VpPLA0_mjU8

ArchitectureandDesign

Teacher-ledActivity

The intentoftheteacher-led activity istodemonstrateopeningthepreviousmyblocks.dwgfile and renamingit as mybuilding.dwg.This imports the coresettings from theSymbolsandStandards activity(window,door,wall,switch, receptacle, light),whicharethesame for thisactivity. Theteacherwill demonstrate:

•Projectingthecompleteddrawing

•Usingthefunctionkeystoturnonand off the Snap, Grid, andOrtho dynamically

•Drawinglinesthatindicatetheexteriorofthebuildingtoamaximumsizeof12'12'

•UsingtheOffset command tooffset the exterior walls to theinsidefor adistanceof6" asper constructionstandards of BC

•Trimming off theintersections of theinterior offsetcorner intersections

•Inserting oneofthe fixtures intothedrawingtogiveanexampleofplacement

•Settingthe grid andsnap to 1’to draw theborderlines1’within drawing limits (32'by24')

Teacher-ledExtensionActivities

A variety of artistic renderingsof architectural plans maybe used tocommunicatewhat abuilding isgoing tolook likeonce it isbuilt:

•One-, two-,and three-point perspectivesgive a rangeofviews from a varietyofangles.

•Elevationsarestraight-onviews from allsidesof a building,asitwould look after ithasbeenbuilt.

•Thebestresourcetounderstandtheseviewsis Google Images.Lookatexamplesof“one-,two-,and three-point architecturalperspectives”and“architecturalelevations.”Present theseto students as examples of artists' andprofessionalarchitects’renderings.

Landscapearchitectureis a whole field untoitselfandexampleplans from theInternet canbe presented.

•When developing aplan, ideas mustbe listed for thepurpose of the building,its contents,theinterior layout,windows, lighting, electrical outlets,andswitches (e.g.,you do not wanta switchbehind a door). Asketch on papershouldhavethe fixtures placedroughlyastheywould be inthe completed building.

StudentActivity

Students willfollowtheStudent Activity and draw theirownsmall building, completewithborder,inserted title block, and placed blocks.

Assessment

Thestudent’s work will be assessed on a “done,notdone”basis:

Done / NotDone
Buildingideationwitha list of the building’sfeatures,including all the required fixtures, windows, and doors
Sketch of theinteriorlayout (scale is not important intheideas phase)
Exterior walls andinterior walls placedandtrimmed
Switch and outlet fixtures placed appropriately
Window(s)insidethewalls
Doorplacedinthe wall

ExtensionActivities

Havestudentsdrawelevations,one-and two-point perspective,presentation,siteplansandlandscape architecture:

•In one-point perspectiveallhorizontaland vertical linesremainasintheplan.

•In two-point perspectiveonlythe vertical linesareasintheplan.

•Elevations are thevarioussideviewsof the planand are taken directly from the plan,pointforpoint.

StudentActivity

ActivityDescription

Usingthe software, createthe drawing andproduce yourownsmall building using thedrawingset-upandthecommandsthathavebeendemonstratedforyou.Analternativeistoopenyourmyblocks.dwganduseitspredefinedstatetotransferitssettingsintoyournewdrawing.Theunits willbe thesame as theywere in themyblocks.dwgand are architectural/imperial. SeeFigure 1 foranexampleof a finisheddrawing.

Figure2—Example ofafinisheddrawing

Generatingideas

Inthis activity you are limited toa building no morethan 12' by12'.You must create alistonpaper or a textfileofallthethingsyouwantinsidethebuilding.Thatincludesallthe fixtures,windows, and doorsyoudrew in theSymbolsandStandardsdrawing, and canalso includeother itemssuchassinks, a toilet,andcountersyoumaywantinthe building as well.Youthenmust sketch out on paper an approximation of yourbuildingwith the things youwantinside.

Once your ideasarechecked,you can thenbegin theCADdrawing.

Whatyoumustdraw

Youneedtodraw a completebuildingwith a door, a window,atleastonelightfixture,lightswitch, and wall outletsplaced8'apart around theinside of the building. The window(s) and doorshould be placedinthe CAD drawing so it“works”withthefeaturesyou’vepreviouslylistedandthe useofyourbuilding.

CommandstoUse/Learn

CardinaldirectionsCircle

CopyDimstyleGridLimitsLineLinetypeMidpointMove

OffsetPolylinePrint/plotSnapSplineText

TrimUnitsZoom

Part1:StartingYourDrawing

A.StartingwithaNewDrawing

Tostartanew drawing from scratch, follow the stepsbelow:

1.Openupan imperialborder template drawingin yourCADsoftware.

2.Grid andSnapset-up:setbothto 2'.

3.Limits set-up: 0,0,0and upperright corner 32',24'are setat the commandline bytyping

LIMITSand pressing entertocyclethroughthechoices to ensure they arecorrect.

4.Dimstyle, Units, andPrint/Plot MUST be set tothe values inthescreencaptures forarchitecturaldrawing:

•UnderDimstyle,set “Unit format” to“Architectural”(Figure2)

•IntheUnitswindow,set“Type”to“Architectural”(Figure3)

5.LookatFigures2,3,and 4 andapplyallsettingscarefullyinAutoCAD. All otherDefaultsettings are satisfactory, though theycanbe changedifrequired.

6.Saveyour drawingas mybuilding.dwg.

Figure3—Dimstylewindow

Figure4—Unitswindow

Figure5—LinetypeManagerwindow

B.Starting with a PredefinedDrawing

If you are usingapreviously created drawingasthestarting point forthis activity, follow thesteps below:

1.Openyourmyblocks.dwg.

2.Resavethisdrawingasmybuilding.dwg.

3.Checkthatthedrawinghasthesame start-up Units(Figure3),Limits,and Dimstyle asinthe

myblocks drawing.

4.Youwill haveallthe blocks you madebefore inthe Symbols and Standards activity and youmayhave to move themtothe outeredges ofthedrawing space to makeroom for the actualbuildingyou will draw.

Part2:ScalingtheTitleBlockandBorder

TypeSCALE; thenhighlight theborder andtitleblock. Pick thebottomleftcorner of thetitleblock. Enter the scale factorof 32, to matchhow big you changed thedrawing limits. Thebordershouldnowalmost fit thelimitsofthedrawing.

Part3:DrawingtheBuilding

1.Ensure thatSnapand Gridare onand set to 1'.

2.Start atleast2' into the drawingspace and drawa 12' by12' box.

3.TypeOFFSETandset itto6".Pressenter.

4.Offset allthe walls insidethe 6" and trim out the excess linesat thecorners.

5.Copy the original blocksyou made before to place them whereveryou choose inthedrawing.Youmayhave torotate them, butyou should nothaveto scalethem if you did themyblocksdrawing correctly.

6.After placing the switch andlightfixture blocks, typeSPLINE. Start theline at theswitchandclick on allthelight fixtures youplacedbefore.

7.TypeLINETYPEtoopen theLinetype Manager(Figure4).You willsee some linetypesalreadyloaded,butnotthedashedline.Click on Loadand choose thedashedline from theselectionset.

8.SelectthecompletedpolylineandtypePROPERTIES. A dialogue box will open. Lookforthelinetype;because you alreadyloaded thedashed line into yourdrawing,youcanselectit from the list and yourline willchange to adashed line when you do.You must changeitbackto“continuous” if youwishtocontinuedrawingwithcontinuouslines.

9.TypeDIMand select the linesyou wishto dimension.Makesure the dimensionsareoutsidethe building.Youshould dimension theposition of the doorandthe window as well.

10.Delete outof the drawing theextra blocksyou are no longer using.

11.Savethe drawing.

12.Plot/printthe drawing.Refer to Figure 6.

Part4:PrintingYourDrawing

Print/PlotWindow

When you want toprint yourdrawing,you must typePLOTand make the choices indicated inFigure6.Inthiscase,theplotissettosaveto a PDFfile. Otherwise, you can printtoyourlocal or network printerbyselectingitinthe“Printer/plotter”namelist. Do notforgettosettheorientationto “Landscape” andthe“Whattoplot:” drop-down selection to“Limits,”toplotto astandardletter-sizepaper.

Figure6—Print/plotwindow