Customer Reviews

The Professional Practice of Architectural Working Drawings

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this book when my younger brother started taking CAD classes to come work with me. I have found it to be an excellent resource, for the beginning draftsman, for putting together a set of plans. For the intermediate and advanced draftsman it is a valuable "checklist" book. The book only has one small section on CAD, but that is not the idea of the book.

This book will show you what is needed to be in a good set of plans. It has many examples of drawings and details and with good explanations for them. The explanations given also help you to understand what is being shown, but also why it is being shown. Having been in construction for over 20 years before I started drafting, I can say that the examples given are the types of drawings I wish came out to my jobs. You will be able to understand what information needs to be in your drawings, how to graphically show it. You will also be able to move around in the book and go to examples for whichever phase you are working on in your drawings and compare what you have done with what is given in the book.

No matter what level of draftsman you are, I would recommend this book. It will be an invaluable resource for you for years to come.

This book sets the standards for professionals in the architecture field!!! Well done. I've never seen a book so comprehensive as this one for the field of architecture. This book does what Graphic Standards never did or CAN. It gives architects an easier way to communicate their ideas with effective working drawing techniques and detailing logic! A must-see for every student of architecture or professional who owns a drafting table...even applies to CAD drawings!!!

I'm very surprised at the two star review below. This book is one of the most comprehensive and updated books on the topic of architectural working drawings to date. Each chapter is a literal list of things to do and strategies for preparing a full set of construction documents. There is even a CAD chapter and nearly 500 new CAD illustrations. Also, an appendix is available on the publishers website that has a comprehensive amount of CAD information. If you want more CAD information, google search "National CAD Standard". You're money is well spent on this book; look at the number of people who purchase it above 50%+ of the people who looked at this book and all others on the topic. Don't hesitate to buy it now :)

Last thing, Dr. Wakita's other books are just as informative. Check out "The Professional Practice of Architectural Detailing" for a well packed book of drawings and strategies.

To chime in with the other reviewers, I am not exactly sure what is up with the one bad review, this book is excellent. I have read this book in its entirety and found that is very rich in content. The first section of the book covers various cad standards and conventions, however it is the latter part of the book that is pure gold. The book lays out the entire process of creating (as the name implies) architectural working drawings, and even gives examples of the development of the working drawings for various buildings of different constructions. It is in no way "out dated", some of the references to certain software and drafting technologies may be a bit stale, but the information contained in the book is timeless and applicable to both manual drafting, and CAD. In addition to this book I would also recommend the book on architectural detailing by the same author, as the two books make a good team.

First let me say that I am not an architect nor professional draftsman, thus some of my criticisms of this book may result from a lack of familiarity with common practice in these areas. I have given the book an extra star here to avoid penalizing it for any lack of knowledge on my part.

My interest is in 3D modeling and visualization of architectural projects, and I hoped to learn more about the background behind some of these activities.

This book does not seem to be able to decide whether it is about design, drafting, engineering, or what, as it kind of drifts back and forth and can't seem to concentrate on an area. For example there's a chapter on "Sustainable/Green Architecture" as every book must have these days, but this one includes a section on Fire and Smoke that seems out of place there. Overall whether something is covered, and from what point of view, seems really random.

I'm sure any practitioner will probably learn *something* from this book, I'm just not sure if a large percentage of the content will be useful to any single individual.

The feeling I get is of old-time professionals who have been forced to learn the new computerized techniques, but who cling to the old ways of doing things and don't really understand or "get" what's going on in the computer. With regard to BIM (and the author's presumption that this means the same thing as using Autodesk's Revit) I learned very little and the Wikipedia article made much more sense.

In the section "Future of CAD", they list eight major movements taking place in the architectural industry, the first of which is "Wireless". Huh??

There are a few really obvious errors in the book, an example being the tiny dark photograph figure 2.59 "Basic drafting equipment" whose lettered notations completely fail to match up with the description in the text.

I fear this book tries to cover too much, and ends up covering nothing very well or in a very up-to-date fashion.

G.

I'm a carpenter/commercial Superintendent and I got this book mainly for personal interest reading and study. Very comprehensive, well-organized and laid out, practical and educational book. I especially appreciated how current the information was, the range of information they covered and that they managed to cover even the most technical aspects in a way that was easy enough to understand.

This book covers the A to Z of architectural drawings and can be used as a textbook in a college course or as a review course by the professional. The book is broken down into three parts; Part I, Professional Foundations, Part II, Document Evolution, and Part III, Case Studies. These cover everything one in the field needs to know about architectural drawings, from office practice, to drawing practice, to Building Information Modeling (BIM), to materials, symbols used and so much more.

If you're a student looking to go into the field, this fourth edition of this book is a must for your library and if you're already in the field, this updated version of this book probably has a lot of new information that would serve you well.

The people at Wiley call this the practical, comprehensive handbook for creating effective architectural drawings and while I agree with them that this is a comprehensive book on the subject, it's hardly a handbook, you know a book you can hold in your hand. This is a tome if ever there was one. It's a big book. It has to be to be as comprehensive as it is.

This book covers the field of creating working architectural drawings from drafting by hand to using CAD. It places an emphasis on doing the kind of work that those in the field can understand and work with, and it is full of examples. If you're a student of architecture or a professional, this is a book that should be in your library.

This is the fourth edition of textbook for Architecture students. This edition incorporates the use of CAD and the latest BIM (Building Information Modeling) technologies. As it says on the back cover, this book incorporates the complete range of skills, concepts, principles and applications that are needed to create a full set of architectural working drawings. But more than that, this book, like a lot of textbooks, doesn't bore you to death while it educates you.

The book is the equivalent of a college architecture textbook. It assumes you have had a basic mechanical drawing class and some exposure to architecture. Its outdated discussing using pencils when everyone uses mechanical pencils or when emphasis is placed on penmenship when we use computer fonts. On the other hand, the student is encouraged to use the latest technological advances. The author encourages making hand sketches of the complete drawing before transferring to a CAD program. It saves mistakes and reprints.

There are a lot of good tips for students on drawing details and design from a structural viewpoint. The illustrations of cross sections is excellent. Many architects have never worked construction and have a hard time visualizing how a building goes together. Plot, electrical, floor, and elevation plans are shown and discussed along with materials schedules. The book is a very good guide for architectural draftsmen.

What you will not find in the book is the thought-design process that an architect goes through with a client. I was disappointed that most house floor plans contained the same dysfunctional concepts that have plagued homeowners for the last 50 years- small closets, bathrooms, bedrooms, kitchens and unused formal living and dining rooms. Exterior style has displaced internal function but the wow factor wears off within months of moving into the new residence. Ditto in apartment buildings and commercial offices/stores. But those should be discussed in class along with the drawing details that are so effectively done in this book. Too bad that it does not have an index in the back-that is the responsibility of the publisher. Overall this is a great book to have in your library.