SHEET PRESENTATION

ARCHITECTURE SHEET PRESENTATION

1. SIZE AND ORIENTATION

Most of the time, the jury mentions a specific sheet size and number of sheets. If that is the case then you have to decide the orientation of the sheets ie; Landscape or Portrait.

In many Architecture Competitions, It is always mentioned to compose the sheet in landscape orientation. This restricts the participants’ creativity. But then that is what the challenges are about.

But when you have the liberty to choose the orientation, it is very important that you choose the right orientation. One cannot say whether landscape orientation is better or portrait is better because your sheet’s orientation depends on your design. Always choose wisely.

2. LAYOUT

Bring your work together as a unified selection of drawings with a format, scale, and style that work together to create a logical and comprehensive view of the project. Different graphic styles and inconsistencies can cause a lack of clarity and confusion.

In general, we read a design presentation from left to right or from top to bottom, so consider the story of your design and how it can be read. Show the progression.

You can do prior planning about space needed per each drawing and the buffering space you would like to leave around each.

3. PLACEMENT AND ZONING

Think of the way you would like the viewers to circulate through your presentation, what you would like them to see first, how they would best understand your project. For example, you may start by brief site analysis, then move to the concept statement and its illustrative sketches if needed.

If your concept is form-based you may need to show the form first, before the plan, then move to the plan to reveal how the form has functionally worked out.
If your concept is in the plan itself, then you may move directly to the plan and conclude with the rendered exterior form as usual.

4. BACKGROUND

Try to keep your background plain, unless it is featuring one of your key images. Architecture presentation board backgrounds can get a little busy and make it difficult to see the key details of the board.

Some students use faded renderings of their own projects as background, but this can be seriously diverting. White backgrounds are best, as they show the true colors of your project. Some opt to use a black background to stand out, however, that doesn’t usually turn out so well. It may cause halation and strain for sensitive eyes.

5. COLOUR

There is the Black & White or Greyscale presentation where you only show lines with various thicknesses, in addition to shade and shadow.

There is the greyscale presentation with an element of color where you would choose one bright color, for example, green for landscape and greenery, to contrast with the, generally, achromatic drawings.

The one color might become two colors revealing different materials like wood or bricks and glass for example.

All, these previous techniques would work out fine if colors are not the main focus in your project, however, if there is an idea behind your color scheme or the used materials, or there are many details that will go lost in greyscale, then there is no way out.

6. TEXT

Minimize text on your sheet. Don’t waste your time writing an elongated design description text. Instead, try to explain your design through graphics. After all ‘ A picture is worth a thousand words’.

Also, when you write text on your sheet, your choice of font matters a lot. Professionalism is expected in every submission. ‘Cute’ fonts don’t work here. Bold and clear fonts are expected. Text font should be simple and its color should be eye-friendly.