Diagrams
Draw the idea, not the render — axos, sections and step-by-step diagrams from a sentence or a viewport capture.
The diagram is how architects argue: the move that made the form, the route through the building, the layer that holds it up. The Diagrams genre draws them in the graphic registers practices use, from a black ink axonometric to a soft pastel site plan to a four-panel competition sequence.
Styles
| Style | What it looks like | Starts from |
|---|---|---|
| Ink line | Black line on white with a proper line-weight hierarchy, the classic architect's diagram. | A capture or image (recommended) |
| Line + one accent | Monochrome drawing where one orange accent picks out the move or element the diagram is about. | A capture or image (recommended) |
| Soft pastel | The airy Scandinavian diagram: white volumes, muted pastel zones, gentle shading, tiny figures. | A capture or image (recommended) |
| Blueprint | Fine white and cyan lines on Prussian blue, with a faint drafting grid. | A capture or image (recommended) |
| Competition board | The polished presentation-panel look: collage fills, cut-out figures, bold arrows, strong hierarchy. | A capture or image (recommended) |
| Sketch on trace | Felt pen and marker on yellow trace, the design-review sketch. | A capture or image (recommended) |
Choices
| Choice | Options |
|---|---|
| View | As captured (with a reference) · Axonometric · Exploded axo · Section · Section-perspective · Plan · Elevation |
| Explains | Form & massing moves · Program & adjacency · Circulation & access · Site & context · Structure & tectonics · Environmental strategy · Phasing |
| Steps | Single image · 3 steps · 4 steps · 6 steps |
| Shading | Style default · Line only · Soft shade · Flat fills / poché |
| Labels | No text · Blank tags · Short labels (unreliable) |
View decides the projection. With a capture attached it starts on As captured, which keeps your camera and restyles the drawing; any other view, and any multi-step layout, redraws the building from that capture instead.
Explains decides what the diagram is about: the massing moves, the programme, circulation, the site, the structure, an environmental strategy or phasing.
Labels defaults to none. Models invent text, so Blank tags leaves leader lines ending in empty tags for you to fill in, and Short labels writes only the words you put in quotes in your description, and still may misspell them.
Starting from your model
A Rhino capture in a parallel projection (axonometric, Top or Front), Technical or Pen display on white, grid and gumball off.
For a section, use a Rhino clipping plane with a solid section style before you capture.
Try these
- Ink line · As captured · Structure & tectonics with a parallel axo capture: "a five-storey cross-laminated-timber office on a concrete podium, with a roof terrace"
- Line + one accent · Axonometric · Form & massing moves · 4 steps: "an urban block on a corner site: it starts solid, a courtyard is carved open to the street, the corner lifts into a tower, the roof steps down to the park"
- Soft pastel · Plan · Site & context · Blank tags: "a riverside park on a former rail yard: paths arrive from the station and the bridge, a sheltered lawn sits behind a tree belt, views open to the water"
- Sketch on trace · Axonometric · Circulation & access: "a primary school around two courtyards, one route from the gate to the hall"
Keep in mind
- Not a measured drawing: scale, dimensions, levels and areas can't be read from it, and even from your capture the model can drift. Count floors and check openings before you share it.
- Any text, labels or numbers were invented by the model. Add real labels yourself.
- Sun, wind and view arrows are graphic language, not site analysis. For evidence, run a Wrengler study.
- Structure, programme and strategy shown are illustrative: nothing is sized, scheduled or checked.