How do architectural drawings and standard symbols communicate a building to its builders and clients?
Building (architectural) drawings: the site plan, floor plan, elevations and sections, common scales, and the British Standard building symbols for doors, windows, sanitary fittings and services.
An SQA Higher Graphic Communication answer on building drawings and symbols, covering site plans, floor plans, elevations and sections, the common architectural scales, and the British Standard symbols for doors, windows, sanitary ware and services.
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What this key area is asking
The SQA wants you to read building (architectural) drawings: the site plan, floor plan, elevations and sections, the common scales, and the British Standard symbols for doors, windows, sanitary fittings and services. Building drawings use the same orthographic discipline as engineering drawings, applied to architecture.
The drawings in a building set
- The site (location) plan shows the whole plot from above at a small scale (1:500 or 1:200): boundaries, the building's position and orientation, access, parking, drainage runs, a north point and neighbouring features. It answers "where does the building sit".
- The floor plan is a horizontal section cut about 1 m above the floor, seen from above, at a larger scale (1:100 or 1:50). It shows the layout of rooms, walls, doors, windows, stairs and fittings, with room sizes. It answers "what is the internal layout".
- An elevation is a straight-on external view of one face (front, side, rear). It shows the appearance, the openings, roof line, levels and finishes.
- A section cuts vertically through the building to show construction and floor-to-floor heights, foundations, floors and roof.
Common scales
British Standard building symbols
The door swing arc is especially useful: it shows which way a door is hinged and opens, which matters for clearances and circulation, all from a single symbol.
Worked example
Examples in context
A real planning or building-warrant submission is exactly this set: a site plan to locate the building, floor plans and elevations to show layout and appearance, and sections and details to show construction. CAD and BIM (building information modelling) software now produces these drawings from a single 3D model and places the symbols automatically, but the conventions read here are the ones the output follows.
Try this
Q1. State the type of drawing that locates a building on its plot. [1 mark]
- Cue. The site (location) plan.
Q2. A floor plan is at scale 1:50. State the real length of a wall drawn 80 mm long. [1 mark]
- Cue. 4 m (80 mm x 50 = 4000 mm).
Q3. State what the swing arc of a door symbol tells the reader. [1 mark]
- Cue. The hinge side and the direction the door opens.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA Higher (style)4 marksDescribe the purpose of a site plan, a floor plan and an elevation in a set of building drawings.Show worked answer →
A site plan shows the whole plot from above at a small scale (for example 1:500 or 1:200). It locates the building on its site, with boundaries, the position and orientation of the building, access, drainage runs, north point and neighbouring features. Its purpose is to show where the building sits and how it relates to the site and services.
A floor plan is a horizontal section through the building (cut about a metre above floor level) seen from above, drawn at a larger scale (for example 1:100 or 1:50). It shows the layout of rooms, the position of walls, doors, windows, stairs and fittings, and room sizes. Its purpose is to communicate the internal layout and sizes.
An elevation is a straight-on external view of one face of the building (front, side or rear). It shows the external appearance, the position and style of doors and windows, roof line, levels and finishes. Its purpose is to show what the building looks like from the outside.
Markers reward: site plan = locates the building on the plot (small scale), floor plan = horizontal section showing room layout (larger scale), elevation = external face showing appearance.
SQA Higher (style)2 marksExplain why standard building symbols and recognised scales are used on architectural drawings.Show worked answer →
Standard building symbols (British Standard symbols for doors, windows, sinks, baths, WCs, electrical points and so on) give every reader the same meaning for each feature, so an architect, builder, plumber, electrician and client all read the drawing the same way. They also let a lot of information fit on a drawing compactly, because a symbol replaces a detailed picture of each fitting.
Recognised scales (such as 1:50 or 1:100) let a large building be drawn on a sheet while every length stays in proportion, so distances can be read and measured reliably, and drawings from different people are directly comparable.
Markers reward: symbols give a shared, compact meaning understood by all trades, and standard scales let the building fit the sheet in true proportion so sizes can be read.
Related dot points
- Orthographic projection in third-angle: the six principal views, the front elevation, plan and end elevation, how they line up and project, and the use of the projection symbol and auxiliary views for complex features.
An SQA Higher Graphic Communication answer on orthographic projection, covering third-angle projection, the front elevation, plan and end elevation, how the views project and line up, the third-angle symbol, and auxiliary views for sloping faces.
- British Standards (BS 8888) line types and conventions: continuous thick outlines, thin lines for dimensions and projection, dashed hidden detail, chain centre lines, cutting planes and the conventional representation of repeated features.
An SQA Higher Graphic Communication answer on British Standards line types and conventions, covering continuous thick outlines, thin dimension and projection lines, dashed hidden detail, chain centre and cutting-plane lines, and conventional representations under BS 8888.
- Dimensioning and tolerances: the rules for dimension and projection lines, leaders and arrowheads, dimensioning circles, radii, diameters and angles, datum and chain dimensioning, and stating tolerances (limits, bilateral and unilateral).
An SQA Higher Graphic Communication answer on dimensioning and tolerances, covering dimension and projection lines, arrowheads and leaders, dimensioning diameters, radii and angles, datum versus chain dimensioning, and stating tolerances as limits.
- Sectional views: the cutting plane and section labelling, hatching at 45 degrees, the half section and revolved/removed sections, and the parts conventionally left unsectioned (shafts, fasteners, ribs and webs).
An SQA Higher Graphic Communication answer on sectional drawings, covering the cutting plane and labelling, hatching at 45 degrees, half sections and removed sections, and the parts conventionally left unsectioned such as shafts, bolts and ribs.
- The three graphic contexts (preliminary, production and promotional) and the design process: responding to a brief and specification, generating and developing preliminary ideas, and evaluating a design against the brief and target audience.
An SQA Higher Graphic Communication answer on the three graphic contexts (preliminary, production and promotional) and the design process, covering responding to a brief, generating and developing preliminary ideas, and evaluating a design against the brief and audience.