Designing Without Ctrl+Z: Architecture Before AutoCAD

 Before AutoCAD and other digital drafting tools, architects lived in a vastly different professional world—one rooted in manual, analog processes that required a unique set of skills and tools. Here's what the life of an architect looked like before AutoCAD (which debuted in 1982):

Design & Drafting Tools

• Drawing Boards: Large wooden or metal surfaces with adjustable parallel rulers and T-squares.
• Drafting Tools:

• T-squares, compasses, triangles, French curves, and protractors.
• Technical pens (e.g., Rapidograph) and pencils of various hardness (H to B).
• Templates for standard symbols (doors, windows, plumbing fixtures).

• Tracing Paper & Vellum: Used for overlaying revisions and creating multiple iterations.
• Ink on Mylar: Final drawings were often inked on durable plastic sheets for copying.

Workflow & Process

Concept Sketching:

• Initial ideas were sketched freehand.
• Many iterations were made by hand, erasing and redrawing often.

Drafting:

• Each plan, elevation, section, and detail had to be redrawn manually.
• Mistakes required redrawing entire sheets or meticulously scraping ink off Mylar.

Revisions:

• Tedious and time-consuming. Even small changes could ripple across multiple drawings.

Blueprinting:

• Before digital printing, architects used blueprint machines (ammonia-based diazo printing) to reproduce drawings.
• Drawings had to be absolutely clean; even stray graphite smudges would reproduce.

PHOTOS FROM 1950 TO 1980

Urban designers before AutoCad

Urban designers.

General Motors Technical Center in Warren Michigan.

The need for precise communication in the preparation of a functional document distinguishes technical drawing from the expressive drawing of the visual arts. Artistic drawings are subjectively interpreted; their meanings are multiply determined. Technical drawings are understood to have one intended meaning.

Today, the mechanics of the drafting task have largely been automated and accelerated through the use of computer-aided design systems (CAD).

Here draftsmen are correcting geological survey printing plates, at The Department of Interior Geological Survey Section, Washington DC. 1939.

A drafting class in the early 1970s.

A sliding straightedge known as a T-square is then placed on one of the sides, allowing it to be slid across the side of the table, and over the surface of the paper.

The basic drafting system requires an accurate table and constant attention to the positioning of the tools.

Designing and putting everything on paper was a tough job, maybe that’s why the need of creation of Autocad software came up.

Tamron’s drafting department in the late 1970s.

In addition, the drafter uses several technical drawing tools to draw curves and circles. Primary among these are the compasses, used for drawing simple arcs and circles, and the French curve, for drawing curves.

The basic drafting procedure is to place a piece of paper (or other material) on a smooth surface with right-angle corners and straight sides—typically a drawing board.

Technical drawing, drafting or drawing, is the act and discipline of composing drawings that visually communicate how something functions or is constructed.

Office & Studio Culture

• Offices were quieter, dominated by the sounds of drafting tools and the hum of light tables.
• Junior architects (interns or draftsmen) spent much of their time producing working drawings.
• Collaboration was slower—communication was in person, by phone, or via physical mail.

Skills Emphasized

• Excellent hand-drafting skills.
• Deep understanding of geometry and scale.
• Patience and precision.
• Physical stamina—long hours hunched over drawing boards.

Time & Effort

• Projects took significantly longer to produce.
• Complex buildings could take months or years just to draft.
• Mistakes were costlier, both in time and money.

Artistry and Legacy

• Hand-drawn plans were often beautiful works of art.
• Architectural drawings were deeply personal and reflected the drafter's style.
• Many of the greatest architects (e.g., Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier) produced stunning hand-rendered plans that are still studied today.