The Perfect Floor Plan
What should a floor plan actually contain? This course answers that question across all RIBA stages, regardless of whether you use AutoCAD, Revit, MicroStation, or anything else. Using a professional template system, you'll learn line weights, layer organisation, hatching, stairs, annotation, dimensioning, call-outs, title blocks, and "covering your backside" with contractual notes—finishing with a beautifully rendered floor plan.
- 2+ hours of premium content
- 10 step-by-step video lessons
- Future updates included
About this course
This course teaches floor plan standards that apply regardless of your software choice. Demonstrated in MicroStation, the principles work in AutoCAD, Revit, or any CAD package. You'll start with a professional template system used by new starters and seniors alike. Learn line weight conventions, layer organisation, furniture clearances, stairs, and hatching. The annotation lessons cover room labels, dimensioning, and element keys. "Covering Your Backside" teaches contractual protection—how to flag unresolved areas and protect yourself when things go wrong. The course finishes with rendering techniques to bring your plans to life.
This essential floor plan course establishes you as a drafting specialist through Studio RBA's proven template system and professional standards. You'll master the fundamental elements of architectural communication, from line weight conventions and layer organization through advanced annotation and presentation enhancement techniques.
The curriculum emphasizes the critical role of floor plans as the foundation of architectural documentation, teaching you to create drawings that communicate clearly to clients, consultants, and construction teams. You'll develop expertise in technical accuracy, graphic hierarchy, and professional presentation standards that distinguish your work.
Advanced techniques include comprehensive annotation systems, dimensioning strategies, and element scheduling that support construction coordination. The course covers both traditional drafting excellence and modern enhancement methods using Photoshop that transform technical drawings into compelling presentations.
These foundational skills are essential for all architectural practice, providing the technical communication basis that supports successful project delivery regardless of building type or project scale. The techniques learned apply to residential, commercial, and institutional projects where clear architectural communication determines construction success.
What will you learn?
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This course will turn you into:
A line weight and layer specialist
External walls heavier than internal, fills that distinguish materials at a glance, layers organised so you can strip back complexity instantly. Clean, readable drawings every time.
A confident floor plan drafter
Furniture with proper clearance zones, stairs with cut lines that make sense, overhead elements that don't confuse. Every convention that separates amateur from professional.
A protected professional
Cloud unresolved areas, add specification caveats, follow up in writing. The habits that protect you when clients rush ahead and things go wrong.
Syllabus
An overview of what floor plans should contain across all RIBA stages—principles that work whether you use AutoCAD, Revit, MicroStation, or anything else. From line weights and fills to callouts and contractual notes.
Using a tried and tested template, set external walls at twice the line weight of internal walls. Organise elements onto separate layers for walls, doors, windows, and Part M accessibility clearances.
Add windows, doors, and furniture with correct clearances using M42 or M43 accessibility templates. Position beds, sofas, and dining tables with 1500mm corridor widths and 910mm door openings.
Apply grey fills to walls—70% for external, 60% for internal—using layer priorities to control overlaps. Add floor finish patterns like tiles or timber planks, and fill furniture for clarity.
Design a horseshoe stair that maintains sightlines through the entrance—positioning matters as much as dimensions. Add cut lines where the floor plan slices through, use dashed lines above to check head heights, and learn the line conventions that turn a confusing drawing into one that reads instantly.
Label rooms with names and areas in square metres, using 5mm text for titles and 2.5mm for general notes. Add GIA calculations, Part M compliance notes, and wall buildup specifications.
Set out openings, partitions, and stairs using blue dimensioning with bold overall sizes. Add section and elevation callouts with drawing references, wall type tags, and ceiling height indicators.
Place your drawing on a sheet at 1:50 scale with a title block showing job number, RIBA stage, and revision. Create element keys as separate files and reference them onto multiple sheets.
Use "in abeyance" clouds to flag unresolved areas like pending manufacturer input or incomplete specifications. Add "or similar" notes and always follow up in writing when issues aren't resolved.
Export your CAD drawing and add shadow layers beneath furniture and walls. Use layer masks, dodge and burn for highlights, and apply wood or concrete textures to bring your floor plan to life.
Meet your instructor
Adam Morgan
Architectural Director
ThreeForm Architects
Hi, I'm Adam. I am the founder and director of ThreeForm Architects, a team of architects and artists in Liverpool, UK. The office is experienced in a wide range of building types and procurement routes, successfully winning projects with contract values of up to £20 million. We work for a broad spectrum of public and private sector clients across the country. I have always had a passion for teaching aspiring and young architects. I offer support to emerging young architects through the RIBA mentoring programme and am also a visiting architectural critic and tutor for Liverpool John Moores University.
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