While there are many types of mechanical drawings and ways to illustrate objects, the landscape designer most frequently utilizes the plan view. The plan view assumes a vantage point directly above the proposed landscape looking down perpendicular to the ground (Figure 9-33). The plan view is a collection of symbols that represent the plants and construction materials to be used in the landscape (Figure 9-34). Symbols are drawn to a scale that permits the property to fit onto the drawing surface and labeled adequately to permit the client to visualize the project when installed. Plants are scaled to their mature size to avoid overcrowding.
The advantages of plan views are that they
• are easily drawn to scale
• efficiently combine the concepts of the design with necessary mechanics such as plant spacing, mulch depth, and concrete thickness
• can be easily adapted from presentation tracings into working construction plans
The major disadvantage of plan views is that some clients find it difficult to visualize the symbolic, two-dimensional drawing in three dimensions.
Two other types of illustration, the elevation and the perspective, are used as sales tools to help clients visualize the completed landscape. Elevations are two-dimensional views of the front, rear, or side of a
Broad-leaved
evergreen
figure 9-34. Typical plan-view symbols used by landscape designers (Delmar/Cengage Learning)
figure 9-35. An elevation view permits the height and width to be drawn to scale. (Delmar/Cengage Learning)
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figure 9-36. A perspective view permits easier visualization of how the proposed design will appear. (Delmar/Cengage Learning) |
landscape as seen from ground level (Figure 9-35). Perspectives simulate three-dimensional views, with the vantage point at ground level or slightly above (Figure 9-36). All three types of drawings can be produced using traditional or computerized methods.
