Building Sections and Section-Elevations

Abstract

It is true that between the floor plans and the exterior elevations we are able to acquire full comprehension of a building project. The floor plan is a horizontally cut section that provides us with a layout of the rooms and the openings into them. The elevations show us the floor-to-floor heights in their correct dimensions, but these floors are revealed to us only in the form of a single line on the elevations, and we are unable to recognize the full complexity of the building construction. In an effort to provide the contractors with more exact information and to explain the construction to them fully, the architect will provide sections cut vertically through the entire building. These sections generally fall into two classifications: longitudinal, on the long axis of the building, and cross or traverse sections across its narrower dimension. The indicators for these sections are applied to the floor plan sheet and properly cross-referenced. The sections go through the building from left to right to the exterior walls on either side, to the bottom-most part of the basement or foundation system, and to the top of the roof.