5

Types of Views

5.1 INTRODUCTION.

Drawings are the main vehicle of communication in the construction industry, and in learning to read and

interpret blueprints, it is necessary to develop the ability to visualize the object to be built. Orthographic

projection principles are basic to all fields in the construction industry. In order to be capable of interpret-

ing a drawing, one must be able to relate the different views.

It is often not possible to read a blueprint by looking at a single view; two or three views may be

needed to correctly read and visualize the form. Figure 5.1 shows three example of objects requiring

only two views to read. Figure 5.2 shows a drawing using three views. Whether sketching or drawing,

the objective is the same. The goal is to communicate the necessary detail to the targeted audience,

whether it is the builder, manufacturer, or client.

Without the ability to communicate, architects, and engineers cannot function in a team. Compe-

tency in drawing and sketching are essential communication tools for architects, engineers, and those

involved in the building trades and manufacturing industries.

In the interpretation of complex objects, even three drawings are not usually adequate to convey all

the necessary information. Additional special views may be required, including pictorials, auxiliary views,

sections, and exploded views. A view of an object is technically known as a projection.

Pictorials are an ancillary category within orthographic projection. Pictorials show an image of an ob-

ject as viewed from a skew direction in order to reveal all three directions (axes) of space in one picture.

Orthographic pictorial instrument drawings are often used to approximate graphical perspective projec-

tions, but there is attendant distortion in the approximation. Because pictorial projections innately have

this distortion, great liberties are often taken for economy of effort and best effect. Pictorials are dis-

cussed later in this chapter.

5.2 ORTHOGRAPHIC (MULTIVIEW) DRAWINGS AND PROJECTIONS.

For many years architects and engineers have utilized a system known as orthographic projection to ac-

curately represent three-dimensional objects graphically on paper. In recent years the term “multiview

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