The Professional Practice of Architectural Working Drawings

This is a great book on how to layout plans and what is involved in each one. Very quick reference on CAD but that is not what this book is titled. Great transition from each subject to the other. The constuction is lacking and probably use Ching's with this one.

To chime in with the other reviewers, I am not exactly sure what is up with the one bad review, this book is excellent. I have read this book in its entirety and found that is very rich in content. The first section of the book covers various cad standards and conventions, however it is the latter part of the book that is pure gold. The book lays out the entire process of creating (as the name implies) architectural working drawings, and even gives examples of the development of the working drawings for various buildings of different constructions. It is in no way "out dated", some of the references to certain software and drafting technologies may be a bit stale, but the information contained in the book is timeless and applicable to both manual drafting, and CAD. In addition to this book I would also recommend the book on architectural detailing by the same author, as the two books make a good team.

I'm very surprised at the two star review below. This book is one of the most comprehensive and updated books on the topic of architectural working drawings to date. Each chapter is a literal list of things to do and strategies for preparing a full set of construction documents. There is even a CAD chapter and nearly 500 new CAD illustrations. Also, an appendix is available on the publishers website that has a comprehensive amount of CAD information. If you want more CAD information, google search "National CAD Standard". You're money is well spent on this book; look at the number of people who purchase it above 50%+ of the people who looked at this book and all others on the topic. Don't hesitate to buy it now :) Last thing, Dr. Wakita's other books are just as informative. Check out "The Professional Practice of Architectural Detailing" for a well packed book of drawings and strategies.

I bought this book when my younger brother started taking CAD classes to come work with me. I have found it to be an excellent resource, for the beginning draftsman, for putting together a set of plans. For the intermediate and advanced draftsman it is a valuable "checklist" book. The book only has one small section on CAD, but that is not the idea of the book. This book will show you what is needed to be in a good set of plans. It has many examples of drawings and details and with good explanations for them. The explanations given also help you to understand what is being shown, but also why it is being shown. Having been in construction for over 20 years before I started drafting, I can say that the examples given are the types of drawings I wish came out to my jobs. You will be able to understand what information needs to be in your drawings, how to graphically show it. You will also be able to move around in the book and go to examples for whichever phase you are working on in your drawings and compare what you have done with what is given in the book. No matter what level of draftsman you are, I would recommend this book. It will be an invaluable resource for you for years to come.

This book sets the standards for professionals in the architecture field!!! Well done. I've never seen a book so comprehensive as this one for the field of architecture. This book does what Graphic Standards never did or CAN. It gives architects an easier way to communicate their ideas with effective working drawing techniques and detailing logic! A must-see for every student of architecture or professional who owns a drafting table...even applies to CAD drawings!!!