Floor plan
A scaled drawing of a building level viewed from above, showing the arrangement of rooms, walls, doors, windows, and other features.
Architectural scale: A set of drawing ratios used to represent building dimensions accurately on paper or digitally. It translates real room and wall dimensions into a floor plan’s drawing size.
Plan view: A drawing of an object or space viewed from above, projected onto a horizontal plane. A floor plan is a building-specific form of this top-down view.
Architectural design: The process of shaping buildings to meet functional, structural, aesthetic, and contextual requirements. Plans let designers test room arrangements and connections before construction.
Site plan: A drawing showing a building’s placement and features within its surrounding parcel or site. A site plan locates the building outdoors, while a floor plan details one interior level.
Orthographic projection: A method of representing three-dimensional objects with parallel projectors perpendicular to the image plane. It explains why plan features are shown from directly above without perspective distortion.
Wall: A vertical building element that encloses, divides, or supports spaces. Wall lines establish the rooms and boundaries that organize the plan.
Building permit: Official authorization to construct, alter, or demolish a building under applicable regulations. Permit submissions commonly use plans to show proposed layouts and code-relevant details.
Elevation (architecture): A scaled orthographic drawing of a building’s exterior or interior face viewed horizontally. An elevation shows vertical appearance that a top-down floor plan cannot convey.
Architectural drawing: A technical drawing that communicates the design, dimensions, or construction of a building. Floor plans are one view within the broader set of architectural drawings.
Door: A movable barrier in an opening that permits or restricts passage between spaces. Door symbols and swing arcs show how rooms connect and how openings operate.