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Architectural Drawings & Design · Question
Short answer
A plan is a view from above after slicing the building horizontally, showing rooms, walls, doors and layout. An elevation is a view of an outside face, showing height, openings and finishes. A section is a vertical slice through the building, revealing floor heights, roof, stairs and how levels relate. Read together, they describe the building in three dimensions.
Imagine the building as a block you can look at in three ways. For the plan, cut it horizontally at about window height and look down: you see walls, doors, windows, columns and the arrangement of spaces. Each floor gets its own plan, and a site plan shows the building on its plot.
An elevation is what you would see standing outside facing one side. It shows the shape of the facade, the position and size of windows and doors, roof outline and material notes. Buildings normally have an elevation for each principal side.
A section cuts the building vertically, as if sliced with a knife, and shows what the plan cannot: clear height between floor and ceiling, thickness of floors, roof slope, steps and level differences, and how services pass through.
| View | Useful for checking |
|---|---|
| Plan | Room sizes, circulation, door and window positions |
| Elevation | Appearance, openings, heights and finishes |
| Section | Floor and ceiling heights, roof form, stairs, levels |
Read them side by side
Pick a door in the plan, find it on the elevation, then see its height in the section. Inconsistencies between views are a sign to raise a question with the designer.
A full set usually adds a site plan, schedules for doors and windows, and detail drawings. Ask the designer to walk you through the set once, using your own use of the space as the guide.
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