The prospective client, by appointment or otherwise, meets the architect in his office. The general scheme is talked over, and the various subjects are discussed, such as the lot, location, size, etc.; the amount to be put into the building, or the cost; the time of beginning and completion; the owner's general idea of the requirements; and the architect's fee. A time is set for the getting-out of the preliminary sketches. All of this information is arranged, and entered in a book for future reference.

At the appointed time, the client appears again, and the preliminary sketches are talked over, changed, and revised, and any new information is noted. After another visit or two by the client, the sketches are accepted. The working drawings are begun, usually made at 1/8-inch or 1/4-inch scale. These drawings are carefully inspected by the head draftsman, numbered, dated, and signed.

These drawings are then reproduced by some method usually blue-printed bound, and sent to the contractors for bids or proposals on the work. After the contract has been let, the full- sized drawings are made.


ARCHITECTURAL DRAWINGS

Preliminary Sketches. In architectural work, no matter whether you are an architect dealing with an owner or client, or a draftsman getting out working drawings, it is always better to make a preliminary sketch of the arrangement, detail, etc., as it saves time and much erasing and changing on the scale drawings. By preliminary sketches we mean the sketching freehand on paper to show exactly just how you will draw it with the T-square and triangles.

Let us consider the architect dealing with a client. The first thing is an arrangement of the rooms, or the plan is first studied. For this work, tracing paper will be found very easy to work with and very convenient. The use of a sheet of co-ordinate paper under the tracing paper will be found very convenient. The squares on the co-ordinate paper will serve as a guide in drawing straight lines; and also the squares as ruled on this paper can be used as a scale one square representing one unit, as a foot or an inch.

Very often the owner of the proposed new building will have some scheme or arrangement of rooms that he would like; therefore, try to have him give you a rough sketch of such arrangement; even a drawing with single lines for walls, and cross-lines indicating windows, will be very helpful. A drawing as shown in Fig. 2 is just what you want from your client.

Having received either this sketch or a list of the requirements, you are ready to start your preliminary sketches. Spread down the co-ordinate paper, and over this lay a sheet of tracing paper. These may be held down with thumb tacks or weights of some sort placed on opposite ends. Assume each square of the paper to represent some unit, as one inch, or one foot, or ten feet; and lay out first the property lines. Then commence on the building proper. Make no attempt at trying to make exact lines; let these sketches be more of freehand drawing. Mark off the approximate sizes of rooms by rectangles, and try the various arrangements, endeavoring to secure an ideal arrangement. Make no attempt at trying to show double lines for wall lines; let it be a free and easy sketch of single lines.

Don't be satisfied with one arrangement of the given requirements. Over this first sketch lay another sheet of tracing paper. Perhaps you can use some parts of the first sketch, and revise other parts. Study your problem, and be fully acquainted with the requirements. After completing this second arrangement, try to imagine difficulties that this arrangement would present, and how they might be remedied. Make another sketch; don't be satisfied until you have made half a dozen different sketches. After having considered all the possible arrangements of the requirements, then take the sketches, spread them all out before you, and see if you have solved the problem.

Now commence with a clean sheet of tracing paper over the co-ordinate paper, and make finished sketches; that is, lay out the wall lines carefully, put in the windows and doors, letter the rooms, and get these drawings into shape to submit them to the client. Make them so that he will understand clearly the arrangement you have sketched.

For filling in the walls to indicate the walls and the windows, it will help the appearance to color the walls on the back side of the paper with the pencil. This gives a subdued color to the walls, and increases the clearness of the plan or drawing.

Prepare small sketches of possible treatment of the elevations, and submit these also with the plan. These will now do for you to submit to your client (see Fig. 3). Be very sure that you have studied the problem thoroughly, and be prepared to answer all questions your client will probably ask. The client will very soon form an opinion of your ability by the way you handle his work.

When these first preliminary sketches are ready, notify your client, unless you have had a previous time of meeting set. If this be the case, then be sure to have your work ready for him at the appointed time. Remember, your client is a busy business man, a man who is always used to keeping his appointments, and expects everyone to keep theirs.

After these first sketches have been submitted, and carefully gone over, make an appointment for the next meeting, at which time you will have the final preliminary sketches ready. There will always be changes and additions on these sketches; and the fewer times the client has to be consulted, the better impression you will make. Therefore, after this first meeting, understand thoroughly your client's objections and changes, ask questions to make sure you do understand, and go back to your office determined to make the revisions and that the next sketches submitted will be approved.

For the next sketches, it is very often more satisfactory to use the T-square and triangles, and a scale, and make small, sketchy drawings.
Tack down your tracing paper, and lay out to a small scale the general arrangement (Fig. 4). Every little detail need not be attempted on these sketches; but make them straight-line drawings, using more care in the finishing of such drawings. Make all plans necessary, showing the arrangement on all floors; also an elevation. Make them attractive, and letter completely.

Perspective Sketches. A perspective is a representation of a building or object as it appears from a fixed point. These sketches are usually drawn at a small scale, either freehand or mechanically. The lines should be lightly drawn or sketched, as strong lines will be objectionable in the rendering or coloring of the drawing. The rendering may be in pencil, ink, water-color, or sometimes in crayon, and prepared upon almost any kind of paper (see Fig. 5).

Competition Drawings. These are more or less preliminary sketches. As a general thing it is only occasionally that a firm enters a competition; but if it should, let the draftsman show that he knows how to prepare such drawings. By competition drawings, we mean drawings that are submitted in a competition. The firms may be invited to submit competition designs, in which case it is called a closed competition; or the requirements may be published in some architectural paper, and anyone may submit drawings, in which case it is called an open competition. The drawings submitted for the open competition are more of the nature of sketches than in the closed competition. Usually, in the closed competition, each firm invited to submit drawings will be paid for their work even though unsuccessful in being the winner. There is generally a sum paid for such drawings. Thus, in a closed competition, an architect is paid for his time and can afford to get out a better class of drawings. These are usually drawn on regular drawing paper, carefully laid out to scale, and all inked in. The sheet is then water-colored and made as attractive as possible in this manner. In other words, these drawings are laid out as carefully, except at a much smaller scale, as working drawings; only the important dimensions are put on.

In the open competition, the work is usually done on tracing paper. The plans are laid out at a small scale, made very sketchy, and the pencil is allowed much freedom in the lines. With this sort of drawing, it is necessary to study the requirements, make sketches, and decide for yourself which answers the requirements the best. There will be no client to criticise your work, but you will have to do this for yourself and submit your sketches as final sketches to the client. The first-floor plan is laid out, and the surrounding premises are also laid out. Trees and shrubbery also are put on; and walks, drives, and gardens are shown. Since this is on tracing paper, very little water-color is used. Use the pencil to show everything, and upon your ability to use your pencil and a soft one, too will depend much of the success of your drawings. After these sketches have been made, they are lettered and titled attractively, and then mounted on cardboard. This mounting is usually done by pasting the corners only, and not attempting to paste the whole drawing. Ordinarily, a border of some sort is placed around the card, and any other finishing touches that will make the drawing attract attention are added. Thus we see that competition drawings are only preliminary sketches finished a little better than for the ordinary class of work.


Working Drawings

By working drawings we mean drawings complete in every respect, with dimensions, sizes of rooms, etc. In other words, they are the drawings giving all the necessary information to completely build the structure as drawn. This division of drawings may be divided into general and detail drawings, the latter being subdivided into scale and full-size.

The architect who is mindful of his client's welfare will furnish a complete set of drawings, The clearest, simplest, and most exact working drawing is the best. Some architects feel that working drawings do not require the best work. The making of good, clear, complete drawings cannot be emphasized too strongly.

The Plan. In the plan we see an arrangement of the rooms for the different floors that approaches the ideal as nearly as possible. The plan should present the conveniences of arrangement. In the following description we shall-consider the plan of a residence, as it will clearly set forth the logical arrangement of parts. The description, as noted, will be limited to residence work, since this class of building is likely to afford a student his first opportunity for independent, original work.

The same reasoning could be extended and applied to any class of building. Usually the first-floor plan is worked out first, as it is the most important, since the greater part of the day is spent in this portion of the house. The upper floors, being used almost entirely for bedrooms or minor rooms, can be worked out to conform to the outline of the first-floor plan. The basement usually is devoted to the heating apparatus and its accessories, the laundry, store- rooms, and such. Therefore, the first-floor plan will govern the outline of the basement walls; and the basement rooms will be arranged inside the basement walls, as determined by the first-floor plan.