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Architecture vocabulary · Drawings and Representation

Scale

Meaning in architecture, with examples

/skeɪl/nounCore term

In architecture, scale means: The ratio between the size of a drawing or model and the real size of the building; at 1:100, one centimetre on paper equals one metre in reality.

In Turkish: ölçek

How it is used

Every drawing and model has a scale, written in the title block. Plans are often at 1:100 or 1:50, details at 1:20 or 1:5, site plans at 1:500. Say 1:50 as 'one to fifty'. A drawing is 'at' a scale, and it is either 'to scale' or 'not to scale' (NTS).

Example sentences

  1. The plans are at 1:100, but the jury wants the main section at a larger scale.

  2. This sketch isn't to scale, so don't measure from it.

Common collocations

  • at a scale of 1:50
  • to scale
  • not to scale
  • scale bar
  • change the scale
  • floor planA drawing that shows a building from above as if it were cut horizontally about a metre above the floor, showing walls, doors, windows and rooms.
  • modelA small three-dimensional version of a building or site, made of card, wood, foam or 3D-printed parts, used to study a design or to present it.
  • detailA large-scale drawing that shows exactly how parts of a building are put together, such as a window frame, roof edge or wall junction, with materials and dimensions.
  • human scaleThe quality of buildings and spaces whose size and details relate comfortably to the human body, so that people feel at ease rather than small or lost.
  • dimensionTo add measurements to a drawing, showing the lengths, widths and heights of walls, openings and spaces with dimension lines and numbers.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Drawings and Representation

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