DRAFTING A RESPONSE
A scale drawing that shows a single level of a building from above, focusing on the layout.
What is a floor plan?
Completed in 1889, this Parisian iron lattice tower was originally built as the entrance arch for the World's Fair.
What is the Eiffel Tower?
This common construction material combines cement, water, and aggregates such as sand and gravel.
What is concrete?
This instrument wall-mounted in homes allows occupants to regulate indoor temperature by turning systems on or off.
What is a thermostat?
This acronym stands for furniture, fixtures, and equipment.
What is FF&E?
The term describing the relationship between the sizes of different architectural elements relative to a standard human or context.
What is a scale?
Located in Rome, this massive ancient amphitheater was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles.
What is the Colosseum?
This structural component distributes building loads safely into the ground.
What is a foundation?
This 4-letter acronym stands for the system responsible for heating, ventilating, and air conditioning a building.
What is HVAC?
In this design, no walls exist between the different areas. A living room, kitchen, and dining area may all share one large space.
What is an open floor plan?
The front-facing exterior or "face" of a building.
What is a facade?
Piercing the sky above Dubai at over 2,700 feet, this skyscraper holds the record as the world's tallest building.
What is the Burj Khalifa?
This type of load includes the weight of structural members, floors, walls, and other permanent components of a building.
What is a dead load?
Activated by intense heat rather than smoke, these ceiling-mounted water devices automatically extinguish localized fires.
What are fire-sprinklers?
This style focuses on neutrals, straight lines, and very few decorative pieces.
What is minimalism?
A drawing that shows the vertical surfaces of a building as if viewed straight-on from the ground.
What is an elevation?
Begun in the 1170s on soft clay marshland, this Italian bell tower became a "legendary mistake" before construction even finished.
What is the Leaning Tower of Pisa?
This architectural feature, commonly found in Gothic cathedrals, provides lateral support to tall walls by transferring loads away from the structure.
What is a buttress?
Unlike supply water which relies on pressure, building drain and waste systems rely almost entirely on this natural force to move water.
What is gravity?
A modern style focus on clean spaces, natural textures, and lots of light -- often using neutrals.
What is Contemporary?
A sliced-through view of a building showing the inside construction layers of walls, floors, and foundations.
What is a section?
This giant step-pyramid temple, known as El Castillo, sits at the heart of a famous Mayan archaeological site in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.
What is Chichen Itza?
In structural dynamics, this phenomenon occurs when the frequency of an applied load matches a structure's natural frequency, potentially causing excessive vibrations.
What is resonance?
To safely step down high-voltage utility power to usable building voltages (like 120V or 277V), electrical engineers rely on this device.
What are transformers?
This tool helps to explore ideas and figure out the general style, mood, colors, and overall feel of a room or project space.
What is a design/mood board?