2
Architectural Drafting
Drafting-drawing with the aid of straightedges, triangles, templates,
compasses, and scales-is the traditional means of creating architectu ral
graphics and representation, and it remains relevant in an increasingly
technical world. Drawing a line with a pen or pencil incorporates a kinesthetic
sense of direction and length, and is atactile act that feeds back into the
mind in a way that reinforces the structure of the resultinggraphic image.
This chapter describes t echniques and pointers for drafting lines,
constructing geometricfigures and shapes, and performing such operations
as subdividing agiven length into a number o equal parts. Understanding
f
these procedures will result in more efficient and systematic representation
of architectural and engineering structures; many are often useful in
freehand sketching as well.