History of the Built Environm 4-1
4.1 [Assignments] Plan and Section
Analysis
Instructions
Research is about being curious. You have to ask a lot of good
questions. Plan and section drawings are great places to get answers.
First, find a good plan and a good section of your site (you should have a
plan from the last assignment). Make sure the drawings are big enough
for you see everything well. Next, analyze them by asking good
questions, and the list below might help:
● How are different spaces defined and distinct from one another?
How are they joined?
● What are the most important architectural elements? Architectural
elements include the following:
○ linear elements, such as columns, beams, arches, etc.
○ planes, such as walls, ceilings, domes, floors, ground/site
articulation, etc.
○ objects, such as closed domes, cubes, sculptures, etc.
○ circulation—paths, gathering nodes, primary views in and out,
public vs. private space, etc.
○ solids and voids and the relationship between them
● What are the visual properties of the architecture? These might
include the following:
○ shapes, such as square, round, octagonal, or pyramidal
shapes
○ size/scale, such as height and width in comparison to the
human body or other structures
○ regular and/or irregular forms, such as basic, complex, or
organic shapes
○ symmetry or asymmetry: Do parts mirror each other on an
axis or are they unbalanced?
○ open or closed, light or heavy, transparent or opaque
qualities of thickness and openness
○ vertical or horizontal orientation, as shown by being tall, long,
or wide
● How are the parts related to one another?
○ Are they radiant or magnetic: Did the plan grow outward or
divide inward?
○ Are they additive or subtractive: Did the architecture add to
its site or carve into it?
○ Are they adjacent or overlapping: Are the spaces defined and
separate, or interlocking?
○ Are they centralized or linear: Do the parts extend from a
center or align along an axis?
○ Are they ordered or organic: Do parts sit on a grid or seem to
grow to form a cluster?
○ Do they have repetition or rhythm: Does an element repeat or
alternate in a pattern?
○ Do they have a hierarchy of parts: Are elements emphasized
by scale, shape, or placement?
Write your analyses on one full page, include the plan and section
drawings on the second page, and list the sources for your images (and
any other sources you used) in a Works Cited on the third page. Here is
an MLA resource, and you can download a useful guide here:
ARH Citation Standards (pdf, 600.1 KB)
Reference Rubric
Please see the accompanying Plan and Section Analysis:
Reference Rubric page for details on expectations.
Purpose
To learn about your building by analyzing its plan and section
Tools
● word-processing program (e.g., Microsoft Word)
Due Date
By the end of this module.
Submission Directions
Please submit your assignment as a PDF, using the following naming
convention:
● 4.1_Surname.pdf
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