The work flow for architectural design of my generation during student days in the 1970s was as follows :

1. Design ideas development through free hand sketches

2. Drafting to scale the plan or plans, elevations and sections of the design

3. Constructing by method one perspective drawing

The above was minimal as a submission on butter papers, also known as rough tracing paper, in any school of architecture in India as progressive work in studios. On approval of design by the faculty, the drawings were redrawn and rendered using any of the presentation media one was skilled in. The presentation could be in pencil, ink, water color wash medium on suitable papers.  In addition to the above there were other methods tried by the more talented students:

4. Drafting axonometric views of various plans

5. Making more than one perspective views such as sectional perspectives, two or three point perspectives

6. Making a scale model using mount board or balsa wood, the only two materials generally available for making models.

Here is an example, my first architectural design as a student, done in 1974… all the necessary drawings required to explain the design done on one single sheet, a handmade paper, in pen and ink medium

Since the 1970s there has been a paradigm shift and change in the ways architectural design ideas are represented. All of it happened after we left college and were in the midst of the struggle for establishing a decent architectural practice. We have seen several young generation architects empowered by the changing digital tools passing out of schools of architecture and joining profession. But unfortunately not many empower themselves with the skills required to develop a systematic ‘Workflow for Architectural Design’.

These pages will explore the possibilities of creating a logical Workflow for Architectural Design by combining the best of both worlds… the manual and the digital.

---- Dr. Harimohan Pillai