Transition from Traditional Blueprints to 3D Home Design

Traditional (Old-Fashioned) Blueprints

Traditional blueprints can only offer a limited view of a home’s design because they are two-dimensional (2D). Blueprints are also visually difficult to read because they have to be drawn to scale, a very small scale to be more accurate. Because the scaling is so severe, it is necessary to draw the blueprints on large sheets, typically 24” x 36” to make the design as accurate to size as possible. These large sheets are inconvenient to work with, difficult to make copies of, and expensive to reproduce.

Hand drawn plans require a great deal of knowledge on the part of the designer or architect. Time also becomes a huge factor in hand drawn plans because simple changes to the structure can result in extensive redrawings.

The main issue with traditional blueprints is that a 2D view of a house is difficult for clients to visualize. Designers and architects are trained to be able to picture what the house would like three-dimensionally—off of the page. Problems can, and do, arise because clients do not have this same ability to imagine what the house will look like once built. One option that designers of custom homes offered was models scaled to size and made of balsa wood. This would at least allow clients the option of viewing what their house would look like in 3D. These models, however, were quite expensive because they had to be handmade and were quite costly—an option that the average client could not afford.

2D Digital Design:

Traditional blueprints were just about eradicated with the onset of 2D digital home design. The move from traditional blueprints to 2D digital design allowed designers, builders, and clients a more realistic view of what a home would like once built.

Freedom was the main draw to digital design. Digital 2D offers a full spectrum of colors, allowing clients the ability to better visualize the home; clients were now able to experiment with details, like different exterior paint color options. Digital 2D design also makes it possible for the clients to work with their builders with landscaping design and options, providing a more accurate view of what the home would, or could, look like once built.

Digital design cured many of the shortcomings of traditional hand drawn blueprints. Because digital designs are operated and stored on computers, making simple structural changes no longer resulted in costly and timely redrawings. Minor changes could now be made in a matter of minutes. Computers also have a more accurate ability to scale the homes to size, alleviating the need to print the plans on the large sheets. Many plans can now be easily viewed on standard 8.5” x 11” sheets. Some builders and subcontractors still prefer the large sheets because they can read the specifications easier. But as far as clients are concerned, having plans on standard sheets of paper is more convenient.

2D digital design required a different kind of knowledge than traditional blueprints. Rather than having to have an understanding of every detail of building a house, designers now needed to know how to control a computer program. These design programs are effective in ruling out man-made design errors, helping reduce the cost of correcting these errors once the house was in construction.

Once quite expensive, 2D digital design is now the most common and affordable design method. Designers now have endless supplies of house plans stored on their computers, making it virtually unnecessary for clients and designers to have to start designing a house from scratch.

2D design programs are now affordable and said to be user-friendly enough for consumers to design their own homes. Designers are still recommended because what is considered “easy” and “user-friendly” is highly subjective.

An example of a shop we designed. It's not as easy as some people claim!

Even though 2D digital design trumped traditional blueprints, it still only offered limited views of the house, mainly just elevations and floor plans.

3D Digital Design:

The new technology of three-dimensional (3D) home design is able to offer alternate views of houses that are far beyond 2D.

The benefits of 3D design are numerous:

Like 2D digital design, 3D design speeds up the design process and again rules out the need for most clients and designers to start from scratch, saving clients quite a bit of money.

3D design also limits human error in the design process and reduces the need for costly changes/repairs.

Costly handmade models are no longer necessary to get a full view of what the home would look like.

Clients can view the home through an animated “fly over.” (See below.)