Unit 2 Outcome 1 | assessment task | Published: April 10, 2024 | Revised: September 27, 2025
This assessment task has been prepared in response to the Key Skills for this outcome. Teachers are reminded that they must assess to VCAA assessment guidelines, for their local context and their own students' needs. The author of this website takes no responsibility for the suitability or compliance of this material. It is the sole responsibility of teachers to design and implement and update assessments.
Flat illustration of a large government or historic building with a domed roof, arched windows, and columns in warm shades of orange and yellow, showcasing Design Elements and Principles from Unit 1 Area of Study 2 VCE Visual Communication Design.
The image is completely blank with a plain white background and no visible objects, text, or features.
The image is completely blank with a plain white background and no visible objects, text, or features.
The image is completely blank with a plain white background and no visible objects, text, or features.
The image is completely blank with a plain white background and no visible objects, text, or features.
The image is completely blank with a plain white background and no visible objects, text, or features.

Design, place and time.

How does design reflect and respond
to the time and place in which it is made?

VCD UNIT 2 AOS 1

What do those
columns mean?

This task is in the field of environments.

 In this task, students are asked to design a reading room that is to be built in a park located in a city of their (or their teacher’s choice). Students will investigate and understand the requirements for such a structure, research and incorporate an iconic architectural style relevant to the context in which they are designing. They will respond to contextual and other factors that influence design decisions and write an Environmental design brief to reframe a given design problem.

Students will visualise a range of ideas and then develop design concepts using manual and digital-based methods, media, and two- and three-dimensional drawing methods. They will incorporate relevant technical drawing conventions to create a presentation suite of schematic documentation drawings. Students may also be asked to create a scale model.

In this task, students will work through all Double Diamond Design Process phases.

outcome

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What students need to do
ON COMPLETION OF THIS UNIT THE STUDENT SHOULD BE ABLE TO

  • present an environmental design solution that draws inspiration from its context and a chosen design style.

(VCE VCD Study Design 2024 – 28 p.28. )

CAUTION

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Good to know
Task breadth and restrictions

Teachers may allow their students to choose a location for their reading room from anywhere in the world; alternatively, they may restrict their class by choosing a country, city or park to use. A restriction may assist students in reaching a deeper level as they understand how contextual factors influence environmental designs.

The example task on this page draws inspiration and influence from prominent architectural styles in the Melbourne context.

Model answer

This is a picture of a multi-page presentation that could be made for this task. It could be printed or submitted as a PDF file for consideration by the client.

The presentation included documentation schematic drawings to Australian conventions for technical drawings and demonstrates the influence of previous architectural styles - Art Deco and the related style of Streamline Moderne.

A digital collage of five architectural drawings and reference images. The drawings show floor plans, elevations, and a perspective view of a building. Reference photos of real buildings are displayed in the bottom right panel.
This presentation shows Plans and Elevations at 1:50 scale on A2 sheets for the reading room. Next, is a Two-Point Perspective view of the room with photos of the site context, centre is a One-Point Perspective of the interior and right are photos of buildings made in the style that has influenced this Streamline Moderne reading room. Larger views of each drawing are shown at the bottom of this page.

VCD Design process

The VCD design process is a framework that illustrates the process designers use. It is based on a model conceived by the UK Design Council in 2003. There are four stages to the VCD double diamond design process. Discover, Define, Develop and Deliver. Each uses different kinds of thinking. Sometimes designers need to think outside the box. Thinking outwards is called Divergent Thinking. At other times, they are trying to narrow and refine their ideas. This is called Convergent Thinking. The Design Process structures everything a designer does, from generating their first inspiration to delivering a design solution to their client.

Areas of study in Target Learning VCD emphasise different stages of the VCD Design process.

A double-diamond diagram illustrates the design process: Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver. It shows divergent and convergent thinking, with iterations, and icons for each phase including a lightbulb, document, and framed solution.

The VCD double diamond design process. Note the positions of Divergent and Convergent thinking. 

A graphic of a red sailing ship on the left with a dashed red arrow curving over a blue globe on the right, all within a gray circular border.

Discover

Use Divergent Thinking to challenge assumptions and explore design problems and opportunities.
A circular icon with blue and green arrows pointing outward in eight different directions from the center, set against a light green background.
A circular icon with a red and white quartered design, inspired by the Double Diamond Design Process VCD, is centered on a background of blue and light blue checkerboard squares.

Define

Use Convergent Thinking to analyse, evaluate and present information for Human-Centred design.
A pink circle with six red arrows pointing inward toward the center, creating a star-like pattern where the arrowheads meet.
A circular graphic with three stylized airplanes in blue, white, and red, layered diagonally on a light gray background. The planes have simple outlines and minimal details.

Develop

Use Divergent Thinking to challenge assumptions, test and explore ideas with unexpected results.
A circular icon with blue and green arrows pointing outward in eight different directions from the center, set against a light green background.
A red delivery truck with a white airplane icon and motion lines on its side, symbolizing fast or express shipping, on a light grey and blue background.

Deliver

Use Convergent Thinking to evaluate, refine, resolve and present design solutions to meet audiences and users' needs.
A pink circle with six red arrows pointing inward toward the center, creating a star-like pattern where the arrowheads meet.

Graphic indicators representing each stage of the design process used in Target Learning VCD.

Jump to
Identify design problem
Discover
Define
How can context influence a design?
Design ideas and concepts
Develop
Present design solutions
deliver
Back to learning activities
Assessment Criteria

Identify design problem

In this section, students will investigate a design problem referring to a public reading room designed to stimulate reading books. They will research architectural design styles and create and run a survey to find out what inspires people to read and synthesise the information they have collected into a formal Environmental Design Brief.

key skills

A simple, stylized illustration of a stand mixer with two beaters and a large base, shown in light purple and white.
How I will demonstrate skills and knowledge
key Skills points for this outcome
  • apply the stages of the VCD design process to generate, refine, resolve and present an environmental design solution

(VCE VCD Study Design 2024-28, p. 28)

Introduction

Students will use the Design Process to support the framing of a Design Problem, collecting data and researching, presenting their findings, writing an Environmental Design Brief, visualising and developing ideas and presenting a design solution. We will work through each phase in sequence.

A person sits on a wooden floor, leaning against a white wall in a library, reading a book. Bookshelves filled with colorful books line the background. The setting is calm and well-lit.

The quiet of a reading room can transport people to far off lands. (Image: DimaBerlin@shutterstock.com).

A graphic of a red sailing ship on the left with a dashed red arrow curving over a blue globe on the right, all within a gray circular border.

Discover

Use Divergent Thinking to challenge assumptions and explore design problems and opportunities.
A circular icon with blue and green arrows pointing outward in eight different directions from the center, set against a light green background.

Design Problem

outline

Physical books are still popular even as digital technology advances. Many people still enjoy the tactile nature of books, and research has shown that people retain information better when reading from a book than from a digital device. Many young children still love to read physical books and find them immersive, as they don't have other distractions like electronic devices. Check out this Guardian article: Reading print improves comprehension far more than looking at digital texts, say researchers. Ella Creamer, 15 December 2023. The Guardian, online.

An NGO organisation is seeking designs for small reading rooms to be constructed in public parks around the world. The main purpose of these rooms would be to provide space for people to read and exchange books. The rooms will be intimate, calming spaces that can hold at least four people reading or browsing. They must be suitable for use in all seasons and weather conditions.

The reading rooms may be used as a reading room for part of the year when it is warmer outside and then as a book exchange during the colder months. It is important that the rooms are welcoming and nourishing to encourage reading and enrich the community in which it is placed.

To promote children’s understanding of their culture, the reading rooms must draw inspiration from the historical design styles and traditions of the country in which they are placed yet also have a contemporary feel.

Location

Students will need to choose an urban park location to complete the design problem. The term location can be used on two levels when considering contextual factors that influence designs.

Firstly, it refers to the city or nation in which the reading room will be located. To understand how this level of location could influence the design of the reading room, students will research that location's culture, social norms, and climate, considering how these can impact their designs. They will also look at contemporary and selected historical design styles or traditions that will be reflected in their final design.

Secondly, location refers to the actual site where the reading room will be situated. The site can influence a building in many ways, such as the way an orientation controls sunlight and shadow, view or outlook, and the size and materials from which nearby buildings are constructed. These are all important considerations in making a building that is sensitive to its location.

Design problem

Students have just read an outline of the idea of building reading rooms in various locations around the world. To focus their work, designers need to rephrase an outline into a formally written design problem. This can be done using the following structure. Further information can be found here.

Five components

  • What needs to be done (What is asking to be built?)
  • For Whom (Who will benefit from the design solution?)
  • Context (Where will the design solution exist?)
  • Goals (What is the change that the design solution should bring?)
  • Crux (What would the designer need to find out to create a successful design?)

 Students will examine the outline above and synthesise it into a Design Problem using the five-stage format above. They should pay particular attention to how they create the section ‘Crux’.

task

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1.1 Location 1

Consider and select a city for your reading room. You may feel comfortable locating it in your hometown or in another place in the world you have been or feel familiar with. Remember, the architectural style of the reading room will have to reflect one significant aspect of the architecture in the country where the room is built.

1.2 Location 2

Consider and select a specific place within a park in the city you chose in Task 1.1.

1.3 Design Problem

Rephrase the outline above into a correctly written Design Problem. Write it in paragraph form.

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key skills

A simple, stylized illustration of a stand mixer with two beaters and a large base, shown in light purple and white.
How I will demonstrate skills and knowledge
key Skills points for this outcome
  • draw inspiration from contemporary and historical design styles and traditions when responding to an environmental design brief

(VCE VCD Study Design 2024-28, p. 28)

Research and collect data

Gathering insights

Students reflect on what they have written in the Crux of their Design Problem. They should have identified that they need to find out about significant architectural styles in the locality or country where their reading room will be built.

For visual information on relevant styles, students can refer to the Eighteen Architectural Styles chart on the learning page, to the styles shown on the History of Australian Architecture page, or conduct independent research into the styles of architecture unique to the chosen location. 

Students will investigate and choose an architectural style that may be incorporated into the design for their reading room.

Examples of architectural styles

A busy street scene outside Flinders Street Station in Melbourne, with crowds of people, cars, trams, and the station’s iconic domed building under a partly cloudy sky.

Flinders Street Station. Renaissance Revival, Federation Free Classical. Melbourne. 

A tall, modern building with vertical windows and a distinctive rounded tower rises against a cloudy sky, with green tree branches in the foreground.

Century Building, Art Deco, Swanston Street, Melbourne. 

A red car is parked on the street in front of a modern gray brick building with horizontal windows and a curved entrance. A large tree stands between the car and the building. The sky is partly cloudy.

A super cool Streamline Moderne wharehouse I found by accident in Green Street, Prahran, Melbourne.

Survey

Students will also need to research reading rooms and the kinds of spaces people consider best for reading. They should also survey their peers to determine the factors that improve or detract from their engagement when reading.

Click here to refresh your memory about ethical research methods for surveys.

A circular icon with a red and white quartered design, inspired by the Double Diamond Design Process VCD, is centered on a background of blue and light blue checkerboard squares.

Define

Use Convergent Thinking to analyse, evaluate and present information for Human-Centred design.
A pink circle with six red arrows pointing inward toward the center, creating a star-like pattern where the arrowheads meet.

Present information

Students will print, sort, annotate, and process their survey results and present the data and information they have found about the architectural styles for their chosen location and requirements for reading. This information will be used in writing their Environmental Design Brief.

Brief

Students document the requirements for the design of a reading room in a formal Environmental Design Brief. Further information on the structure of a Brief can be found here.

The suggested format for the Brief is:

  • Client
  • Environmental design need
  • Target Audience, users and stakeholders
  • The function of the design solution, the purpose of the presentation format
  • Context of design solution, context of presentation format
  • Constraints and expectations
  • Presentation formats required for the client
Jump to
For further information on the Brief and the History of Australian Architecture, click the links at right.
A yellow lightbulb with rays shines above lines of text, all inside a blue circle, symbolizing creativity and innovative ideas within design constraints or meeting design criteria in writing or content creation.
Brief
Stylized illustration of a dark historic building with arches and towers in the foreground, and a modern METRO building in the background, set against a tan circular backdrop—an inspiring scene for exploring the Double Diamond Design Process VCD.
Australian Architecture

task

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1.4 Gather insights

Research important architectural styles that could inform the shape of the reading room you will design. Collect five to ten images of examples of architectural styles that interest you, from the country or location you have chosen. Remember your legal obligation to record the sources of your images. Identify the names of the styles and describe the key characteristics in informative annotations.

1.5 Write and conduct a survey

Create a simple survey to find out how and where people like to read. Try to give them options about what kinds of places and furniture inspire them to read and stimulate their imaginations. Conduct the survey with your class.

1.6 Synthesise and Present Information

Process and present the results from your survey. Create an infographic to make the results easy to access and interpret. Arrange the images from your research and annotate them to describe architectural styles and reading spaces you found. Describe what you have learnt about reading spaces in your investigation.

1.7 Environmental Design Brief
Now that you have a firm handle on what will be created, who for, where and why, write an Environmental Design Brief using the format shown above.
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How can context influence a design?

In this section, students examine the relationships between a proposed building and its site. They consider contextual and other factors and their influence on environmental design in general and, specifically, in relation to their proposed reading room. Students analyse and describe how their design decisions may be shaped by their understanding.

key skills

A simple, stylized illustration of a stand mixer with two beaters and a large base, shown in light purple and white.
How I will demonstrate skills and knowledge
key Skills points for this outcome
  • respond to contextual factors when designing environments
  • consider economic, technological, cultural, environmental and social factors that impact environmental design projects

(VCE VCD Study Design 2024-28, p. 28)

Specific site context

Students will analyse a site in their chosen park. They will either visit the site in person or use Google Maps screenshots to collect information about its orientation, outlook and the heights, materials and methods of construction of nearby buildings. Students will decide if their reading room will harmonise or contrast with the surroundings in its location.

People sit at outdoor tables along a city sidewalk next to a café. Cars are parked on the street, pedestrians walk by, and colorful shops line the opposite side under a partly cloudy sky.

Orientation is such an important part of a site’s context. This café on Chapel Street, Prahran, Melbourne is lucky to be on the sunny side of the street in the mornings. Perfect for a coffee on a winter morning.

A busy urban street with shops, parked cars, and people sitting at outdoor tables. A colorful mural of a womans face decorates a building on the right. The sky is partly cloudy, and a bike lane runs alongside the street.

Another view of the same café on the sunny side of the street. Nice.

Map of a park with paths, lawns, gardens, and landmarks. “You Are Here” marker is at the bottom near the Bandstand. A red circle highlights the chosen site for a reading room at Lawn 10, close to the center-right.

The chosen site as it appears on a sign in the Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne. Note: the direction of North. This is an important clue for designing for aspect.

A map of Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne showing arrows for direction of sunlight, direction of land slope, and shaded areas. Nearby streets, landmarks, and key locations are labeled.

A simple site analysis showing the direction of sunlight, shade and fall of the land.

A wide grassy field with scattered fallen leaves, bordered by dense trees and greenery. A construction crane is visible in the background above the treetops under a cloudy sky.

Photo of the site looking North

A large green lawn bordered by trees with autumn foliage, a small domed pavilion on the left, and modern city skyscrapers visible in the background under a cloudy sky.

Photo of the site looking South

A small, round, cream-colored pavilion with a domed roof and eight columns stands on a grassy lawn in a park, surrounded by trees and paths under a cloudy sky.

A small rotunda downhill from the chosen site.

A landscaped garden with large agave plants, yellow shrubs, and a decorative fountain stands in front of a beige multi-story building. Two people sit on a bench; the sky is overcast.

Epworth Hospital adjacent to the site, wearing a very similar colour to the buildings in the park.

Other influencing factors

They will also consider the impacts of economic, technological, cultural, environmental and social factors on a proposal for a reading room. They should create headings that refer to each of the factors and then consider aspects such as;

  • Economic = The costs of design and building. May/ may not be relevant, depending on the brief
  • Technological = What technologies could be used to aid the design? Why would they help to create a better design solution? What technologies should be present in the completed reading room and why?
  • Cultural = Will the design of the reading room reference any cultural beliefs or practices? Will it be inclusive to people of all cultures? How can other cultures be accommodated?
  • Environmental = Will the reading room harmonise or contrast with its surroundings? Why and how does this facilitate the purpose of stimulating reading? Will the reading room be constructed from environmentally sustainable materials? Will it use passive heating, cooling and lighting? How could these best be provided for?
  • Social = Consider how the reading room can be accessible for users of all sizes and abilities. What other amenities might it need?

To refresh your mind on contextual factors, jump back to the learning page by clicking here.

task

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Make a new page titled ‘Contextual Factors’. Answer the following two tasks on this page.

2.1 Site analysis

Conduct a site analysis on the site you have chosen for your reading room. Consider the points in the section on ‘Specific Site Context’ above.

2.2 Consider factors that impact design decisions
Analyse how all the factors shown in the ‘Other influencing factors’ section above may impact a design that responds to your brief. The analysis could be done as a mind map, a Venn Diagram, or in paragraph form.
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Design ideas and concepts

Students develop and resolve design ideas and concepts and deliver completed design solutions to clients, users and stakeholders. They use manual and digital-based methods, media and two and three-dimensional methods to represent their ideas, concepts and solutions. Students revise and incorporate technical drawing conventions for environmental design and create a schematic documentation drawing package for presentation and assessment.

key skills

A simple, stylized illustration of a stand mixer with two beaters and a large base, shown in light purple and white.
How I will demonstrate skills and knowledge
key Skills points for this outcome
  • select and use a range of appropriate manual and digital methods, media, materials, and design elements and principles to visualise environmental design ideas, concepts and solutions
  • annotate design ideas and concepts using design terminology to explain and evaluate design decisions

(VCE VCD Study Design 2024-28, p. 28)

A circular graphic with three stylized airplanes in blue, white, and red, layered diagonally on a light gray background. The planes have simple outlines and minimal details.

Develop

Use Divergent Thinking to challenge assumptions, test and explore ideas with unexpected results.
A circular icon with blue and green arrows pointing outward in eight different directions from the center, set against a light green background.

Visualise ideas

Students use divergent thinking strategies to generate a range of ideas for their reading room that incorporate a previous architectural style. They should work in two- and three-dimensional line drawings and aim to complete two A3 pages of visualisation sketches. Students should consider the information gained from their site analysis in their visualisation drawings.

Students consider the merits of their ideas by evaluating them against the purpose and constraints in their Brief. They select and identify two ideas to develop further by annotating their folio work.

Hand-drawn architectural sketches labeled Concept 1 and Art Deco 1930s, showing front and side elevations, vertical lines, a single tall spire, stepped front, block elements, and direction of light notes.
Visualisation sketches using lines in two and three dimensions. Note the references to historical design styles in the annotations.
Architectural sketch of a streamline moderne building concept, labeled “Concept 2,” showing front, side, and top views with features like porthole windows, upper decks, and a skylight, inspired by 1940s Art Deco.
Visualisation sketches working between two and three-dimensions to clarify both form and layout.

Develop concepts

Students develop two concepts, both manually and then digitally. Students use paraline or perspective methods in three-dimensional sketches. Manual drawings can include experimentation with media and materials such as markers and applying paper materials and textures in a collage.

Development with digital media can include using the free CAD software Tinkercad or similar.

Students should remember that they are incorporating the characteristics of an architectural style and responding to the context of their reading room.

Hand-drawn architectural sketches labeled Concept 2, showing a roof plan and a ground floor plan of a building, with notes about shelves, windows, sunken floor, entry, and toilet locations.

Development using manual media.

A pencil sketch of a modern building in two-point perspective, with handwritten notes questioning the balconys placement and saying the front is set back too much for a strong entry. Lines and vanishing points are visible.

Development using manual media.

A 3D model of a geometric object with rounded and rectangular shapes, holes, and a vertical cylindrical protrusion, displayed on a blue grid background.

Development of Concept 2, using digital media Tinkercad.

3D model of a modern, rounded building with two stories, circular windows, flat roofs, and a vertical chimney-like structure on the front, shown on a blue grid workspace.

Development of Concept 2, using digital media Tinkercad.

A 3D model of a rounded, rectangular mechanical part with two main sections, holes for fasteners, and layered contours, displayed on a blue grid workspace.

Development of Concept 2, using digital media Tinkercad.

Describing and evaluating

Students annotate their work to identify, describe, explain and evaluate the choices made regarding selected design elements and principles, how they have incorporated key characteristics of an architectural style and how orientation, outlook and surroundings relate to the concepts being developed.

Sample annotation

In the CAD drawings above, I have used rounded forms to create a structure with symmetrical balance when seen from the front. The forms increase in height yet reduce in width to suggest a graceful, layered tower structure. I have incorporated narrow bands around the building, together with balconies, smooth face concrete-like material in keeping with the style of Streamline Moderne Art Deco, popular in the 1940s. The bands emphasise the horizontal axis - a characteristic of this style. The front of the building would face to the South and be seen first on the site. The rear, would have a glass wall to maximise light coming in from the North.

task

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3.1 Visualise ideas

Generate a range of ideas for the reading room that incorporate a previous architectural style. Work in two- and three-dimensional line drawings and aim to complete two A3 pages of visualisation sketches.

3.2 Evaluate ideas and select concepts

Evaluating the ideas against the purpose and constraints in the Brief. Select and identify two ideas to develop by annotating them in the folio.

3.3 Develop concepts with manual media and methods

Use manual paraline or perspective methods in three-dimensional sketches and sketch two-dimensional plans to develop concepts. Aim to complete two A3 pages of folio work.

3.4 Develop concepts with digital media

Develop one concept using digital media, including free CAD software. Take screenshots of the concept from different points of view.

3.5 Describe, explain and evaluate design decisions

Annotate concepts to identify, describe, explain and evaluate the choices made regarding selected design elements and principles, how they have incorporated key characteristics of an architectural style and how orientation, outlook and surroundings relate to the reading room.

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Present design solutions

In this section, students resolve and present design concepts as complete solutions that meet the needs of clients, users, and stakeholders. They will use a range of two- and three-dimensional, manual- and digital-based drawing methods to represent form and structure. They will revise and incorporate technical drawing methods suitable for environmental design. They will combine their work into a documentation schematic package for assessment. If desired, students may also construct a scale model or digital model of their reading room.

key skills

A simple, stylized illustration of a stand mixer with two beaters and a large base, shown in light purple and white.
How I will demonstrate skills and knowledge
key Skills points for this outcome
  • present resolution of effective design solutions to meet the requirements of a brief
  • apply technical conventions to documentation drawings.

(VCE VCD Study Design 2024-28, p. 28)

A red delivery truck with a white airplane icon and motion lines on its side, symbolizing fast or express shipping, on a light grey and blue background.

Deliver

Use Convergent Thinking to evaluate, refine, resolve and present design solutions to meet audiences and users' needs.
A pink circle with six red arrows pointing inward toward the center, creating a star-like pattern where the arrowheads meet.

Documentation schematic drawings

Students will present a package of drawings for their client at the conclusion of this task. This will include plans, elevations, and three-dimensional drawings of the reading room. The drawings will be presented formally on sheets using title and information blocks and incorporate technical drawing conventions for environmental drawings. Students will refer to this section on the Learning Page to refresh their memory on making schematic documentation drawings.

Resolution of design solution

Students will resolve a design solution by making a plan and two elevations to an appropriate scale. Depending on the size of the reading room, an appropriate scale will be 1:20, 1:50 or 1:100. They will use the same process as learnt on the Learning Page in the previous part of the task.
Architectural floor plan with blue grid lines, black walls, and bathroom fixtures. A Transform tool window shows dimensions and coordinates. Dashed lines indicate a curved path or boundary. Scale Corners option is checked.

One part of the Plan being developed. This illustration shows blue guides and the Transform palette used to keep everything in place.

Architectural drawing showing ground, first, and second floor plans of a building, each labeled with dimensions and features such as staircases, rooms, and doors, with notation for a void in the middle.
Plan completed with dimensions and title, North point and information block.
A computer screen shows architectural design software with technical drawings and blueprints. A hand-drawn concept sketch overlays part of the workspace, featuring notes and two perspectives of a reading room design.

Elevations being developed. This illustration shows how a sketch perspective drawing was used firstly, to sort out how the intersecting forms would work together, then to inform how it might look in Elevation.

Architectural drawing showing the south and east elevations of a modern building, with clean lines, rectangular forms, circular windows, and labeled measurements alongside a title block on the right.

Elevations completed with dimensions and title and information block.

Jump to
For further information on the Plans and Elevations, click the link at right.
A simple architectural drawing shows a square floor plan above two elevation views labeled South Elevation with a door and North Elevation as a plain square, over a light green background.
Plans & Elevations

Three-dimensional drawings

Students will use the information on their Plans and Elevations to construct three-dimensional views. They should construct either an interior view in Planometric or One-Point Perspective or an exterior view in Isometric or Two-Point Perspective.

These drawings can be done manually or digitally. Teachers may instruct their students to use the drawing methods they consider best suit this assessment task. Below are shown drawings in One and Two-Point Perspective. For examples of Planometric and Isometric for this task, flick back to the learning page.

One-Point Perspective

A One-Point Perspective interior can be created dimensionally accurately in the vertical and horizontal axes simply by work from an elevation and projecting lines back to a vanishing point. The question remains, how can one be sure of the proportions in the ‘Z’ axis or depth. For this example, I used two ways. These are shown in the images below.

Black and white architectural floor plan featuring a central circular area labeled Sunken Floor, a small room with a toilet and sink in the upper left, stairs on the right, and double entry doors at the top center.

The first way to plot dimensionally accurate points on the ‘Z’ (depth) axis of a One-Point Perspective is to create a plan that has grid lines that define half and quarters of the space. This can then be reproduced in perspective.

A close-up, low-angle view of a printed architectural or floor plan labeled SUNKEN FLOOR, with red grid lines and bold black outlines, placed on a gray surface against a plain gray background.

However, I was still unsure about the accuracy of the relationship between the size in the horizontal plane and the size of the depth. For this experiment, I photographed the plan as if viewed in a natural One-Point Perspective.

A diagram of a room in two-point perspective, featuring a central vanishing point marked by red lines, with blue construction lines and labeled areas such as “SUNKEN FLOOR” on the floor plan.

The dark background of the photo was deleted in Photoshop ®, then placed in Illustrator ® where it was combined with an interior elevation at the same scale, and lines projected to calculate the vanishing point.

A perspective drawing of an indoor basketball court with guidelines showing vanishing points and central alignment; faint shelving lines are visible along the left and right walls.

The drawing was then done on tracing paper in pencil.

Line drawing of a symmetrical room with empty shelves on both side walls, a door with a circular window at the center of the back wall, and a circular recessed area in the floor at the center.

The final drawing was done on a second layer of tracing paper in technical pen. I used free-hand to get a more casual feel to the drawing.

Two-Point Perspective

Two-Point Perspective was chosen to produce a natural view of the reading room from the outside. The CAD model was made in Tinkercad at scale, following the completions of the Plans and Elevations, to support the construction of this view.

A 3D modeling software screenshot shows four red popsicle-shaped objects, including two solid popsicles, one hollow shell, and one rectangular outline, arranged on a blue grid workspace.

A new model was constructed in Tinkercad, carefully to scale.

3D model of a simplified boat with a flat bottom, rounded edges, and small cylindrical details, displayed on a blue grid background, likely in a CAD or 3D modeling program.

The components were all combined and grouped.

A transparent 3D model with curved and rectangular shapes, shown on a blue grid workspace with circular cutouts and shaded layers, displayed in a digital design interface.

The model was then converted to a transparency and a screen shot taken from a nice, realistic point of view.

A 3D modeling interface shows a geometric object on a grid. Multiple perspective lines extend from the object to a vanishing point on the left side, illustrating principles of perspective drawing.

Lines were extended from the model and used to calculate the two vanishing points. For a realistic drawing it is best to have one of the vanishing points at a long distance from the model.

A 3D model of a boat with circular windows and geometric guides, displayed on a blue grid workspace with visible construction lines and measurement points.

The first, and most important part of drawing in three-dimensions is to ‘crate’ the form accurately. Vertical lines were also added to make it a Two-Point Perspective as Tinkercad forms a distorted Three-Point Perspective view.

A 3D model of a modern building with rounded corners and flat roofs, displayed on a blue grid. Construction lines and perspective guides are visible around the structure.

Following the construction of the line drawing, a new layer was used to support the construction of shapes with the pen tool and filled with gradients.

Architectural presentation sheet featuring two photos of a park-like site with trees and open grass, and a digital rendering showing a modern, cylindrical reading room building in two-point perspective.

Details were added, then the drawing placed into a presentation page showing pictures of the site context.

A collage of four photos showing Art Deco buildings in Australia, featuring curved lines, ribbed detailing, and geometric forms. Project details are listed on the right side, resembling an architectural drawing sheet.

An additional page of the presentation was made that would show from where the stylistic influences came.

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For further information on the Planometric, Isometric, One-Point and Two-Point Perspective, click the links at right.
A white cube is shown above a 45-degree set square on an orange circle background, illustrating an isometric or axonometric projection.
Planometric
A white 3D cube is centered on a yellow circle. A green diagonal banner across the bottom right displays 30° in bold black text.
Isometric
A green circle with a white, cube-like square in the center. A gray line runs horizontally through the middle, intersecting an orange dot in the center of the square.
One-Point Perspective
A white cube is drawn on a green circle background, with black lines extending from the cube’s corners to two red dots at the top corners, illustrating two-point perspective.
Two-Point Perspective

Schematic documentation package

Students will combine all of their drawings into a cohesive package, as shown on the Learning Page. This package would be used to present design solutions to a client, users or stakeholders.
A digital collage of five architectural drawings and reference images. The drawings show floor plans, elevations, and a perspective view of a building. Reference photos of real buildings are displayed in the bottom right panel.

A completed schematic documentation package on art boards in Adobe Illustrator ®. Note; for the size of this building, the Plans and Elevations were placed on A2 sized artboards, the other drawings on A3. The sheet sizes are noted in the information panels for each page. This schematic documentation package should be exported as a PDF file for presentation to your client.

task

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4.1 Floor plan

Complete one Plan view of the reading room to an appropriate scale using Adobe Illustrator ®. Remember to incorporate all symbols and conventions for walls, windows, doors and other features as shown on the Learning Page.

4.2 Elevations

Rotate your Plan view accordingly and create two Elevations of your reading room. Show the building from the outside. Use the correct symbols for doors and windows, at the appropriate scale.

4.3 Complete with technical conventions

Add dimensions to the Plan view using the method shown on the Learning Page. Ensure you show the three categories of dimensions: interior spaces, wall details and overall, external dimensions. Show them on three planes: length and width on the Plan, heights on the Elevations. Add dotted lines for roofs, and don’t forget the North Point symbol.

4.4 Three-dimensional drawings – interior views

Use a paraline Planometric or One-Point Perspective method to construct a view of a section of the interior of your reading room. Use a manual or digital drawing method. You may use the dimensions from your Plan and Elevations or use a CAD model of the space to assist you set up your view.

4.5 Three-dimensional drawings – exterior views

Use a paraline Isometric or Two-Point Perspective method to construct a view of the exterior of your reading room. If using perspective, make sure you set the Horizon line at a realistic height, according to the view a person would have. Use a manual or digital drawing method. You may use the dimensions from your Plan and Elevations or use a CAD model of the space to assist you set up your view.

4.6 Schematic documentation package

Create a title and information block for your drawings. Place each of the drawings into a file with several artboards. Create a cohesive presentation for export for the delivery of your design solutions and assessment.

4.7 Extension exercises

Students may make a manual or digital CAD model of their reading room to scale if desired or requested by their teacher.

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White percent symbol (%) on a coral pink background.

assessment criteria

Below is a broad indication of the evidence a student should show.

Click here to purchase a complete assessment rubric for this task.

The extent to which the student:

  • applies the stages of the VCD design process to generate, refine, resolve and present an environmental design solution
  • draws inspiration from contemporary and historical design styles and traditions when responding to an environmental design brief
  • responds to contextual factors when designing environments
  • considers economic, technological, cultural, environmental and social factors that impact environmental design projects
  • selects and uses a range of appropriate manual and digital methods, media, materials, and design elements and principles to visualise environmental design ideas, concepts and solutions
  • annotates design ideas and concepts using design terminology to explain and evaluate design decisions
  • presents the resolution of effective design solutions to meet the requirements of a brief
  • applies technical conventions to documentation drawings.

Please note: To achieve good marks in criteria-based assessment, you must include some work for each part of the task. Spread your time evenly across the tasks.

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