Assignment 1: Annotated Drawing
Annotated drawings are a tool that designers, engineers, and scientists have used for generations to record observations. An annotated drawing contains two elements: A drawing of a subject, and descriptive notes, labels, and/or observations on the subject. An annotated drawing provides a record of information on the on-site observation of the building in greater detail. For this assignment, you will hand-draw and annotate a portion of an exterior elevation of a building of your choice. It must be a building you can visit, not one from a photo. (Campus buildings are perfect for this; you can also do your house, or any building.) Additionally, you will include three photos (see below).
The goal is to accurately describe your observations that conveys the building’s physical properties. Your assignment will not be graded based on drawing qualitybut on your ability to communicate what you observe via this annotated drawing.
Requirements (limit: two pages, uploaded as PDF):
Page one: Hand drawn, partial elevation of a building. This is a hand drawing by pen or pencil (approximately 10’x10’) of a part of a building facade in elevation (Think of it as part of the exterior wall on the first floor). This smaller scale enables you to focus on a part of the building and start to notice different characteristics. Be sure to include a door, window or some part that gives it visual interest and orients the drawing to the building in some way. This should be a first floor drawing, so choose a section where you can show how it meets the ground (so not an upper floor). You can make this drawing as complex or as simple as you can, but be sure you at least draw the elements you annotate. Remember: We are NOT grading you on drawing ability, nor does it need to be precise or perfect by any means! It can be a horrible drawing – as long as it is recognizable, and you locate and draw the element you are describing – and point it out on the drawing with your note.
Page One: 10 annotations that correspond to you drawing. Annotations are simply notes of what you notice on the building – your personal observations recorded in the scientific tradition of annotated drawings. These can be both broad (“there are two windows on either side of the door” or detailed “the gutter is leaking on the exterior leaving a dark rust colored stain.” It must be building-related (i.e., no “someone is sitting in on the bench” or “there is garbage on the ground”). Each annotation should be 1-2 full sentences each; and does not need to be technical or use special architectural language, but simply descriptive. You can list your ten annotations either by list with corresponding numbers on the drawing, or use arrows and be more free-form where the annotations are. The important part is that your writing is CLEAR, NEAT and READABLE. You can either list with corresponding numbers/letters (typed, handwritten) or simply use arrows and write neatly along side the drawing.
Page Two: Three photographs of the building with captions. Take photos of the building at different scales (one of the whole elevation, two closer) that support your observations. Include a caption that describes what you are showing. The photos must be your own.
Record the location and name of the building as well as the time of day you did the drawing.
Guidelines & Hints:
Choose a building you can visit in person. This could be a building you pass by on your way to/from class or a building you like on campus or in your neighborhood. Any photos you include should be your own.
You can draw any building elevation, so take some time to explore what interests you and find a comfortable place to sit for the drawing.
Consider how you will compose the elevation and what features you find essential to include in the (approximate; it doesn’t have to be exactly square nor measured) 10’x10’ format. Is there a compelling door or entryway you would like to include? An interesting handrail? Signage? Damage or graffiti? Different materials?
The ten annotations should highlight the most important features, as well as minor ones. They can include estimating any dimensions you think might be necessary to understand the scale using feet and inches (i.e. 5’6”); different building materials, major elements (doors, windows, stairs) and minor (trim, ornament); the orientation of the elevation (i.e. northeast); sun and shadow; water effects on the building (stains, downspouts); signage, light fixtures, etc.; landscape/ plantings against the building; signs of age and wear such as damaged material, grafitti, weathering.
Be descriptive. First call out the element, then give detail. Note the texture, character, color, scale, or detailing of the element you are calling out. “Windows have four gridded panes. They are divided by wood, which looks water damaged.” (note: opinions of what you look at are fine – you don’t have to know special names or features! This is not a test of architectural elements.)
Draw and write neatly; be sure it’s readable! This is drawn by hand – use a good pencil that’s soft enough to show lines. Please make sure it’s dark enough to read when you take a photograph!
Submission Format:
Compose your drawings, images, and written observations on two 8.5 x 11 sheets in either landscape or portrait orientation.
How to do this:
1. Take a photo of your annotated drawing.
2. Arrange the photo of your drawing as large as possible in a Word document for page one including the following information in the top left corner:
Your Full Name
Date
Your Graduate Reader/Grader’s name
Name of Building/Time of Day
3. Arrange the three photos of the building in a Word or Google Docs document, and caption each photo with a sentence to describe it.
4. Save the two-page spread as a single PDF.
If you are familiar with other tools for creating PDFs (Adobe, PowerPoint, etc.), that’s fine. Whatever is easiest is fine.
Annotations do not need to follow this exact format -you can either list and type, or you can hand draw with arrows. Here are some examples:
