SURVEYING

WHAT IS SURVEYING? Surveying is a technique which helps determine the three-dimensional position of a space, showing the points and all the angles/ distances between them. By surveying you can map out the building corners and the position of features which are within a space, very similar to Plans. When surveying there are lots of aspects which need to be worked with such as the mathematics (geometry) of the building, there are lots of ways in which you can measure out the diameters, such as:

Tape measure
Total stations
GPS receivers
Laser measurer

Surveying is part of the planning and construction of architecture, however is can also be used in transport, mapping and communications. When surveying it is always good to look at different angles, such as a plan view, a section and then also focusing on the smaller detail which may be missed off a section plan.

WHY IS SURVEYING IMPORTANT?

Surveying is a crucial part of development, starting from the planning, all the way through to the final construction. Surveyor’s work closely with many different fields such as engineering, architecture and planning, they are the first people who are on site of any construction, as they need to begin measuring and planning out the space in which they have been given. Once they have gathered the measurements this is when we can begin using them, they allow us to understand and make the most of the space when it comes to designing.

During our Technical drawing session with Collin we began to explore the use of surveying and how it will help us when mapping/planning. To begin with he took us into the Cantor Building, we were focusing on the main stair case and he wanted us to survey the area and begin mapping it all out, doing a plan view, a section and also a detail plan. To start off with Collin asked us to do a rough draft of the stair case, we didn’t need to be precise about measurements just yet as this comes later, however we did need to have the correct angles and walls in place, as well as the correct amount of steps. Once we had our rough plan we could begin measuring up, this took a while which allowed for accuracy and also so we could make sure we had all the measurements which would be needed for when it comes to drawing up a neat version which would be to scale. I needed to make sure I had measured the correct angles for a plan drawing as well as the angles for a section, these are all different and show the space within a new perspective.

DRAFT SURVEYING

Because these are only a rough survey draft it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just needs to be roughly accurate so it allows for your measurements to be seen and also to show where they belong within the draft. These measurements are used at a later stage to produce a final plan that is drawn to scale, these are more professional and are what you would show your client.

When it comes to a detail plan this helps show smaller detail that may be missed. Because the bottom step is a Shadow-step this can easily be missed in a Section drawing. When drawing a detail plan you need to zoom in on the section and draw in the measurements, this can then be seen clearer and also allow for more understanding when it comes to constructing.

SURVEYING PLAN/SECTION/DETAIL

Once I had collected all the necessary measurements and had done a rough draft of a plan, section and detail it was time to scale these up and draw professionally. This can be done either by hand or you can use CAD which allows you to work on the computer. These take longer to develop compared to the previous draft however because you are working to scale you need to make sure you get the correct measurements down on your drawing. When drawing to scale it is advisable to use either 1:20, 1:25 or 1:50, these allow for the drawing to fit onto the page but still show the detail. To do my plan, section and detail I worked at a scale of 1:25 @ A3.