What’s the difference between the two when it comes to designing and building a house?
An architect has to have a lot more education. An architect is like a doctor, a drafter is like a medical technician? Drafters don’t do much in the way of calculations or “big picture” planning.
When I was a mechanical engineer the draftsman didn’t have any input at all into what he drew. He just followed the layout we engineers had created. We, OTOH, could move parts around, change right for left, etc. We had the creative part and he had the drudgery.
I’m guessing you’re dealing with a drafter who has more input in the process than this. But I still think it’s the architect who lays out the design and the drafter who draws up the blueprints. The drafter may have to do some creative work to complete the technical details – if the architect specifies a twelve foot cantilevered deck then the beams have to be so big and the joists have to be so big, or something like that.
Strangers have the best candy.
I’ll second what pluto said and go into a little more detail. Although, like pluto, I’m talking about Mechanical Design and not Architecture. I assume the two are analagous, though.
Designer:
Comes up with the basic configuration and layout of a component or assembly, including nominal dimensions and materials. This is all based on the design specs and his own creativity. He must also seek input from the engineers (stress, performance, manufacturing) to make sure the design is robust, optimized, and manufacturable. He then gives the design to the …
Draftsman
Responsible for presenting the design in a drawing format. He’s responsible for laying out the drawing in such a way so that it’s readable, understandable, and complete. He also takes care of the Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing, callouts, notes, and definition of datum surfaces. He still has to interact with the designer (he may even be the designer) to achieve these goals. The designer and other engineers check the drawing for errors and sign it off when they are satisfied with it.
To lend a very subjective take…
My sis-in-law and my niece are both architects, as well as one of my friends. Nowadays you don’t finish an architecture degree w/o a working knowledge of AutoCAD or something equivalent. There are architects who are more like my s-i-l who are prone toward the engineering side and worry a lot about materials, stresses, loads and the like, and function. There are architects like my niece who are more concerned with the esthetics of the “global” unit, but are also trained to make sure you can put this much stuff on top of that. Both of them CAD better than I, but they don’t produce the final renditions of plans or renderings of the great things to come. Those are handled by CAD drivers who check dimensions, etc., and interact with the architects along the way.
Another subjective splash - one of my best friends is a CAD operator for an oil company. He knows AutoCAD inside and out, and has quite a library of (is this right?) AutoLISP routines. He makes some of the best maps you’ve ever seen. He has some model in his mind that works, but I’ll tell you frankly, he doesn’t have even the vaguest understanding of geology, geophysics or, really, the whole business. But he can take your coffee soaked piece of graphite encrusted paper and turn it into, not just a drafted map, but the map you wanted it to be!
It reminds me of a tale spun by a physics prof I had in school. I’ve never checked it out, so don’t know if it’s true (but if I get seriously debunked here, Herman, everything else you told me is going under the microscope). According to Herr Prof, during the course of the Manhattan Project, the need to produce fissionable material was handled by workers who were not advised as to the true nature of what they were producing. Manufacturing processes were set up so that the workers could process the stuff as it needed to be; and, of course, glitches showed up. As per Herman, the workers derived their own model of the process and dealt w/emergencies in a fashion that accepted all the input that was allowed them and lead to acceptable outcomes. Once again, according to Herr Prof, the workers’ solutions never failed, but their models were wrong. How did I get on this, anyway?
Oh yeah, Danny the CAD driver.
beatle: Another subjective splash - one of my best friends is a CAD operator for an oil company. He knows AutoCAD inside and out, and has quite a library of (is this right?) AutoLISP routines. He makes some of the best maps you’ve ever seen. He has some model in his mind that works, but I’ll tell you frankly, he doesn’t have even the vaguest understanding of geology, geophysics or, really, the whole business. But he can take your coffee soaked piece of graphite encrusted paper and turn it into, not just a drafted map, but the map you wanted it to be!
In another life, I was a CAD draftsman for a naval architecture/marine engineering firm.
First: yes it is AutoLisp that’s the programming language for AutoCAD. Pretty handy once you get the hang of it.
Second: I too had limited knowledge of the various sciences it took to design a ship. Infrastructure, electrical, electronic, HVAC, safety/fire control: I got exposed to it all and absorbed a little, but I couldn’t’ve designed anything from the beginning. But once any of them handed me a mark-up, I could make a really nice drawing of the system they were designing.
Funny story: this was about 1988, when CAD just started taking off. (We still had “hand” drafters at the time, and CAD was just kind of an experiment.) I had just turned off my PC when an engineer came out of a late meeting with a sketch. He asked me if I could make a nicer-looking drawing quickly. I said sure, and reached over and turned on my PC. He asked me to wait. He said if I could just draw (by hand) a new sketch instead of using the CAD. I told him that I couldn’t draw a straight line by hand if my life depended on it. I assured him that I could crank out a nice plotout within 30 minutes. And I did.
These guys here are right on target concerning the differences between architect/engineer, draftsman and designer.
I have worked in these professions for about 18 years now. I would, however, like to make an additional comment about draftsmen; I have always described the position as “graphical secretary.” This probably wouldn’t endear me to my new subordinates since I was named CAD department manager last week though, so keep it under your hats.
Additionally, I have written a few AutoLisp routines myself or modified some that I have found published in Cadence and Cadalyst.
I’ve got a very nice (in my opinion) routine for creating profiles of structural steel shapes. I would be happy to e-mail it to anyone who’s interested.
“The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind.” - Humphrey Bogart
Great job on defining the difference! One note to add: in a project to build a building (I know that’s pretty lame, but figure out another way to say it!), as opposed to adding a deck, constructing a roller coaster, or such, the architect is responsible for ensuring that electrical lines and outlets, proper plumbing (in and out), and all that good stuff that we take for granted until it doesn’t work, is in the building, in the right places, with all the necessary stuff (vents on the waste lines, etc.) to be sure that it works right.
Which would you use to design/manage the building of your house, taking into account that around here a Draftsman will cost a couple thou. while an Architect will cost arount 15K?
to edify an edifice?
to construct a structure?
to skyscrape a … never mind!
“The inability of science to grasp Quality, as an object of enquiry, makes it impossible for science to provide a scale of values.”
Robert Pirsig
GasDr, who you can use might depend on your local building codes. Some states and even some cities require a registered P.E. to sign off on the plans. If your locale doesn’t go quite that far you will still have to pass inspection. The draftsman may not have sufficient knowledge to get you through that inspection. Also, the architect probably has much more experience handling contractors and schedules.
I guess you should find out exactly what the authorities require before making a decision.
“The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind.” - Humphrey Bogart