Jam investigates architectural drawings

​So, I finally got around to the introduction of architectural drawings. The three basic drawing views used to express an architects design is the plan, elevation, and section. 

​A plan view is basically a bird’s eye view. It is looking down at your design to see show how items are related to each other, where they are located and how it can be navigated. This could be the layout of your house or the layout of your neighborhood.

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An elevation drawing show the vertical design of the object or space. It shows you what the design looks like if you were to view it standing in front of it. This type of drawing is used to show what the outside of a house might look like, the interior design of a wall, or what the playground will look like from the street.

​A section drawing shows more detail. It is typically used to show how materials fit together to make the design, or to show the height of a space. For example, a designer might draw a house section to show how the walls connect or how high the ceilings are in a room.

​Each of these types of drawing are essential for a designer to communicate their projects to others. So how do we show these concepts to kids? With CAKE!

Jam and the IWJ crew learned architectural drawing concepts with everyone favorite treat. (Please don't judge my cake decorating skills- the point got across) As you can see from the pictures I broke out my reliable landscape books to show them examples of real plans, sections, and elevations. (those college books still come in handy) After we looked at book examples they each took a turn investigating the cake. With every drawing, we discussed the differences, focusing primarily on shapes. We talked about how in plan view the cake looked like two circles, but in elevation it was two rectangles. The hardest part of the lesson was keeping the kids out of the icing. Every time I looked away Jam’s fingers and lips got browner.
​I have to admit the best part of the lesson was eating the cake.

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Activity

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Find your house on Google Earth. Look at the aerial view (plan) around your neighborhood. If available jump to street view (elevation) and discuss the differences you find.
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Case study #14- Investigate a snack. Find two snacks in the kitchen and draw them in plan, elevation, and section. Then devour. 

Download

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 Drawings from the books
The old house book of cottages and bungalows- by Lawrence Grow 
Landscape graphics. Plan, section, and perspective drawings of landscape spaces- by Grant W. Reid.