AEC definitions
An elevation is a scaled drawing of a vertical surface, seen straight on, with no perspective. Exterior elevations show each face of the building. Interior elevations show a wall inside a room, with finishes, fixtures, and heights the floor plan does not carry.
Definition
Elevations are orthographic. Parallel lines stay parallel, so you can dimension heights. They show materials, openings, vertical dimensions, and the relationship of the facade or the wall to grade and to floor levels. They do not show what is inside the wall. A section does that, by cutting through. Calling a section an elevation, or the reverse, sends people to the wrong sheet for the assembly.
In depth
A full set usually includes north, south, east, and west, or as many faces as the footprint needs. They locate floor lines, parapets, windows, and materials. Vertical dimensions are taken from a datum, often finish floor or sea level, and the sheet should say which.
A material tag on the elevation has to match the specification and the wall type. A brick elevation with a metal-panel spec, and no note that resolves it, is an RFI waiting for bid day.
Toilets, kitchens, reception desks, and casework are usually drawn as interior elevations because the floor plan cannot show tile heights, accessories, or shelf spacing. The elevation mark on the plan tells you which wall you are facing.
If the interior elevation and the finish schedule disagree about a wall finish, do not pick the prettier one. Check the revision dates. Then ask, if they still disagree.
An elevation looks at a face. A section cuts through the building and shows the assembly, the structure, and the floors stacked. A wall section is the enlarged cut. People say elevation when they want a height, and they need the section when they want to know what the wall is made of.
Detail references on an elevation should land on a detail that actually matches that condition. A callout that points at a generic jamb, used on a rated opening, is a coordination error.
Exterior elevations are named by the direction the wall faces, not by the direction you are looking. The north elevation is the north face. Confirm that against the north arrow on the plan before you order glass or panel to a compass direction someone assumed.
Interior elevations are numbered. The mark on the plan is a circle or triangle with the sheet number. Reading elevation 3 of the toilet when the plan mark pointed at elevation 5 is a classic accessory-on-the-wrong-wall mistake.
Do not scale depths from an elevation. It has no depth. Do not take hidden structure from it. And do not treat an entourage of people or trees as scope. Graphic scale figures are not occupants the code count uses.
Heights that matter for code, such as guard height or sill height above a floor, should be dimensioned, not left to a scale bar. If they are not dimensioned, measure from a stated datum and confirm.
Examples
The south elevation shows a 42 inch guard at the terrace, dimensioned from finish floor. The spec section for metal fabrications does not need to repeat the height for the installer to know it.
Interior elevation 2/A-601 shows the tile wainscot at 4 feet. The finish schedule says paint. The response clarifies which revision governs before the tile is ordered.
A bidder treats a wall section as the exterior elevation and misses the material change at the top floor that only the elevation draws.
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