My Thoughts on Manual Drafting
Having gone back to a drafting habit many years after architecture school, I made some realizations on how knowing and doing manual drafting is greatly helpful for an architect in terms of proficiency in planning and drawing, as well as in the development of manual skills.
SPACE
Richard Lasam
12/6/20253 min read
It’s hard to imagine, but a long time ago, I was just a high school student in my final year of senior high, trying to decide where I will go for my collegiate studies. I took a career test given by my school, and the results cleared it up for me: four of the five careers that the test showed I had an aptitude for were various forms of the architectural profession (the other career option was botany, if you want to know)—and thus, my fate was sealed.
While I have already talked about the challenges of architecture school before, I realized I have not yet discussed anything about a major aspect of the architectural school experience: manual drafting (or technical drawings, i.e., the precursor to our modern computer aided design or CAD systems).
Taught extensively in the early years of architecture school, manual drafting is the image that popular culture uses to show one is an architect in visual media. The stereotype architect is often shown doing manual drafting on a drafting table, with a T-Square (a very long and heavy ruler), a pile of technical pens, all sorts of triangular rulers, and tracing paper to denote that the person is an architect. This image, however, is now an anachronistic idea of an architect, since most works are now done in computers. That said, the idea of manual drafting being connected to the architectural process persists to this day.
Manual drafting may seem antiquated, what with our heavily computerized—and now, AI-powered—architectural process, but it has advantages and lessons that a future architect (and current architect!) needs to learn to succeed in the job. Looking back to my college days and the long road to becoming an architect, I come to a few realizations, which I think will be worth considering for those who are thinking about taking this career path:
1. Manual drafting will tell you if architecture is for you. As someone who went through architecture school, I can immediately tell you that manual drafting is a skill, not a talent. Manual drafting can be learned—prior drawing skills or latent talent is not needed for you to learn how to draw in an architectural manner. However, it can tell you if you will be for architecture school or not; manual drafting, by its nature, will teach you design fundamentals and other aspects of architecture. If at this point, you already find it difficult, then it is best to reconsider your career path in architecture.
2. Your design sense is better integrated in your mind. Much like writing, manual drafting is a physical activity that connects the pen and the mind, translating ideas to physical existence on paper. There are studies that show that hand writing—and by extension, manual drafting—keeps your mind sharp and clear, so learning to draw this way is a good thing in the long run.
3. Being proficient in manual drafting helps in CAD drafting. The reality on the ground for architecture is that computer aided design drafting is the standard practice for design and encoding the plans done by architects. However, manual drafting does teach one the correct “drafting instinct” for using CAD programs in the later years of architecture school and in actual work. These drafting instincts, such as patience, spatial awareness, and attention to detail in the design are taught and reinforced when one has used manual drafting in their design process.
Manual drafting as a hobby
Nowadays, I find myself returning to a form of drafting as a hobby; I draw patterns (usually symmetrical and geometric) in a technical manner, and the works I have put out in connection with this is what I call Art Deco GeoMetrica. It helps me refocus my design sensibilities, and as a side effect, I notice that it also has revived my writing hand for notetaking.
If you want to read more on my architectural musings, you might want to read about desire paths (something we architects can't predict and control!) or about how I did the master plan for a hospital. Architecture is something that takes time to learn, but it can be a good career path if your strengths include planning and creating solutions for a myriad of requirements.
"As someone who went through architecture school, I can immediately tell you that manual drafting is a skill, not a talent. Manual drafting can be learned—prior drawing skills or latent talent is not needed for you to learn how to draw in an architectural manner."
stereotypical image: tattooed arm aside, this picture instantly tells you that you are looking at an architect because of all the paper, the ruler, and those markers. (I admit i have also owned a number of them.)