Plan, Section, and Elevation are different types of drawings used by architects to graphically represent a building design and construction. A plan drawing is a drawing on a horizontal plane showing a view from above. An Elevation drawing is drawn on a vertical plane showing a vertical depiction. A section drawing is also a vertical depiction, but one that cuts through space to show what lies within.

Plan Drawing Definition

Plan drawings are specific drawings architects use to illustrate a building or portion of a building. A plan is drawn from a horizontal plane looking down from above. This is as if you sliced through a space horizontally and stood over looking down on it. Plans are a common design drawing and technical architectural or engineering convention for graphic representation of architecture. With the exception of plan perspectives, plan drawings are orthographic projections. This means they are not drawn in perspective and there is no foreshortening.

There are different types of plan drawings:

• Plan
• Plan Callout or Blow Up Plan
• Plan Detail
• Site Plan
• Roof Plan
• Reflected Ceiling Plan or RCP
• Plan Perspective

Plan Drawings

A plan drawing shows a view from above. This is often used to depict the layout of a building, showing locations of rooms and windows, walls, doors, stairs etc. Although plan drawings can be drawn from above, they are often drawn cutting through the building with horizontal plane. The plan is typically cut at a height of about 4 feet, but the architect drawing the plan may cut it at a different height. This means that you have an imaginary plane cutting through the building at an elevation of 4 feet above the floor. Therefore, you see in the cut anything that the plane passes through.

Plan Callouts

Another common architectural convention is the use of plan callouts. A callout is an area within the plan that is drawn at a larger scale. For example, if I have a floor plan at 1/4″ = 1′-0″ scale of a house, I might have a callout of the kitchen and bathrooms, showing them at 1/2″ = 1′-0″ scale. Half inch scale is twice as large as quarter inch scale.

Plan Details

Details in architectural drawings are large scale drawings that typically show how something is built. Details identify all the materials and connections for construction. Details are normally 3/4″ = 1′-0″ or larger. Plan details are drawn in a plan view at a large scale to show the construction.

Site Plan

A site plan may or may not be drawn cutting through the building. A site plan is going to show more than just the building, including the entire site the building is located on. This can show the property lines, the building location, utilities, roads, landscape etc. A site plan will most typically be drawn from above the building, as if showing a roof plan of the building within the site plan. Sometimes the site plan can be drawn as a first floor plan being cut through the first floor. This is done to show the relationship from the exterior of the building to the interior entrance.