Architecture case studyArchitecture thesisMeasured drawing
How to Do an Architecture Case Study: A Field Checklist for Documenting a Building
Live vs literature case studies, permissions and etiquette, the measured drawing method, what to record on site, and a sheet template for turning it all into analysis a jury can read.
Published on 10/16/202610 min read
An architecture case study is a structured record of an existing building: its site, climate, users, programme, structure, services and materials, documented in drawings and photographs and then analysed so you can learn from it. You will do two kinds. A live case study means visiting, measuring and photographing a building yourself. A literature case study is built from published drawings and writing. Below: choosing them, permissions, measuring and photographing, what to record, and analysis sheets a jury can read.
About the rules below: Council of Architecture (COA) rules apply to every B.Arch programme. Rules quoted from one university apply only there and are labelled with its name and year. Measuring technique is summarised from a published government standard. Everything else is MOA guidance and is labelled as such. Your own studio brief always wins.
Where case studies sit in your B.Arch
COA's Minimum Standards of Architectural Education Regulations, 2020 build documenting buildings into the course from the start:
- Visits are compulsory. Institutions must arrange study tours and visits to places of architectural interest as an integral part of the curriculum, and study tours "shall be part of the course and conducted every year".
- Measured drawing is taught early. The Architectural Graphics and Drawing course includes "measured drawing of building elements and simple building forms".
- Case studies run through the theory courses. The course descriptions name case studies in urban design, site planning, climatology (vernacular and contemporary responses to climate), acoustics and conservation, and the housing course pairs case studies with post-occupancy evaluation.
- The thesis needs research behind it. It must show a design "aptly demonstrated through supporting research".
In practice that starts in first year. In the 2024-25 Basic Design II plan at SPA Vijayawada, students in groups of eight pick a kiosk or stall in the city in week 2 and produce its measured drawing, go on a study trip in week 5, and spend weeks 6 to 9 on documentation reviews before the design problem begins.
Live vs literature case studies
| Live case study | Literature case study | |
|---|---|---|
| Source | Your own visit, measurements, photographs and conversations | Published drawings, books, journals, the architect's own publications |
| What it gives you | How the building is actually used, maintained and adapted; real light, heat and noise | Buildings you cannot visit, often with complete drawings and the architect's intent |
| What it cannot give | Full drawings, unless the owner or architect shares them | Wear, misuse and what users think |
| Main risk | Measuring errors and missing areas you could not access | Unverified drawings, and renders mistaken for built work |
Schools often fix the mix. Shivaji University's B.Arch IX and X syllabus (from June 2018) asks thesis students for two live case studies, at least one book case study and at least one net case study, "with comparative analysis and statement". Case studies carry 50 of the 100 internal marks for that stage, and students are told to plan this work during their 16-week practical training. If your training semester is coming up, our internships guide covers it.
How to choose (MOA guidance): pick buildings that share your thesis problem, not just your building type. A useful set is one live study close to home that you can revisit, one live study in a similar climate or at a similar scale, and one literature study of a building that handles your core problem well. For literature studies, take drawings from the architect's own publications or a credible journal, and check whether an image is a photograph or a render. Projects on MOA show built work by Indian studios with their own descriptions, which is a starting point for finding comparable buildings to request a visit to.
Permissions and etiquette
No national rule covers visiting a private or institutional building for a student case study, so this part is MOA guidance:
- Write first. Email the owner, manager or architect a week or two ahead with a college letter: who you are, your guide, the purpose, date, team size, and what you want to measure and photograph.
- Ask what is off limits. Hospitals, schools, offices and homes all have areas you should not enter or photograph.
- Ask for drawings. Many architects will share a plan for academic use. Credit it on every sheet.
- Keep people out of your photos. Do not photograph patients, children or staff without consent. Wait for spaces to clear, or frame around people.
- Leave no mark. Never tape, chalk or pin anything to finished surfaces. Afterwards, send a thank-you note and a copy of your drawings.
Heritage sites protected by ASI
If your case study is a centrally protected monument, the Archaeological Survey of India's FAQ sets out the basics under the 1958 Act and its rules:
- You may photograph any protected monument, but you may not bring a camera stand, extra lights or similar equipment without written permission from an archaeological officer.
- "Copying" is defined to include making copies "by drawing or by photography".
- Filming needs a licence from the Director-General, applied for in Form IX at least three months ahead, and the licence conditions bar filming roofed interiors.
- Any act that causes or is likely to cause damage to the monument is prohibited.
MOA guidance: for anything beyond hand-held photographs, such as a tripod, lights or a long measuring session, write to the ASI circle office for the monument well in advance and carry the reply with you. State-protected monuments come under state archaeology departments, so ask them.
Measuring: the measured drawing method
A measured drawing records a building as it is, which is how Mohanlal Sukhadia University's 2021-22 B.Arch syllabus frames it: its fourth-semester Measured Drawing and Documentation course starts with the difference between measured and working drawings, covers conventional, modern and digital measuring techniques, uses sketching and photography as documentation tools, and asks for graphical documentation: a site plan, plans, sections, elevations and details at a suitable architectural scale.
For the technique itself, the clearest published standard we found is the HABS measured drawing guidelines from the US National Park Service (2008). Its core rules apply on any Indian site:
- Sketch before you measure. Draw each plan, elevation and section in pencil on graph paper, large enough for long strings of dimensions. Show hard edges only, and label every sheet with the building, drawing, your name and the date.
- Use a steel tape. The guidelines say fibreglass tapes stretch over long distances.
- Take running strings. Measure each wall corner to corner in one continuous string and read cumulative totals, because adding up short pieces accumulates errors.
- Check with diagonals. In irregular rooms, measure between opposite corners. Run strings through door openings into the next room to get wall thicknesses.
- Measure plans at one height. Plans are measured at about four feet (roughly 1.2 m) above the floor, and openings consistently to the same edge of their frames.
- Hang heights from a datum. Take elevations and sections as vertical strings referenced to one horizontal datum: a level brick course, or a line set with string and a line level. Hang a plumb bob at corners that lean.
- Count, do not re-measure. For regular brick courses or stair treads, locate the first and last and divide.
- Capture details properly. Use a profile gauge for mouldings; photograph flat details straight on with a scale in frame.
On the day (MOA guidance): split the team into a sketcher, two on the tape and a recorder who also photographs. Carry 5 m and 30 m steel tapes, a laser distance meter, string and a line level, a plumb bob, a compass and graph paper. Record in millimetres. Draw the plan up that evening; if the diagonals do not close, go back and re-measure.
Photographing a case study
Photographs are evidence, not decoration. As MOA guidance, work from a shot list:
- the approach and the street, to show context
- each elevation as straight on as you can stand
- every key space, from a corner, so three walls show
- junctions and details, with a scale or tape in frame
- how users have changed the building: added shading, blocked windows, informal seating
Number each photo and mark where you stood, and which way you faced, on a key plan.
What to record
Use the same checklist (MOA's) for every building so the comparison at the end is fair.
| Category | What to record |
|---|---|
| Site and context | Location, plot shape and area, access and entries, levels, neighbours, north, views, noise |
| Regulations | Ground coverage, FAR, setbacks and height as built; our guide to setbacks, FAR and height limits explains them |
| Climate | Orientation, shading, openings, courtyards, roof form, where it is hot, cold or stuffy in use |
| Users | Who uses it, how many, at what hours; staff versus visitors; accessibility |
| Programme | Spaces and their areas, zoning, adjacencies, circulation share, built versus open |
| Structure | System, grid, typical spans, expansion joints, how loads reach the ground |
| Services | Water, drainage, electrical and HVAC routes, shafts, plant rooms, fire exits |
| Materials | Wall and roof build-up, finishes, how they have aged, maintenance problems |
| Use and feedback | What users praise or complain about, and changes made since opening |
If sustainability is part of your thesis, note any green rating the building claims; our green building certification guide explains what each rating covers.
Analysis sheets: from data to findings
A case study is judged on what you conclude, not how much you collected. As MOA guidance, give each building the same sheet layout.
- Draw analysis, not just drawings. Overlay zoning, circulation, shading, structural grid and service cores on your plans.
- Quantify where you can. Circulation as a share of built area, area per user, window-to-wall ratio on the hot faces. Say how you measured each one.
- Write three kinds of inference. What works, what does not, and what you will take into your own design. Each should point to a drawing or photo number.
- Finish with a comparison matrix. The same rows for every building, one column each, then a short statement of what the set tells you. That is exactly what Shivaji University's "comparative analysis and statement" asks for.
Presenting it at a review
Order your sheets as a story: why this building, key facts, drawings, analysis, inferences, then the comparison. Mark every drawing as measured, redrawn from a named source, or published, and credit every photograph you did not take. Shivaji University's syllabus also suggests reading published critiques in architecture magazines to learn the technical language.
Good case-study sheets often earn a place in your portfolio as proof you can observe and draw. Our architecture portfolio examples show how Indian students present research pages.
Frequently asked questions
What is a live case study in architecture?
A study of a building you visit yourself: you measure and photograph it, observe how it is used and, where possible, talk to its users.
How many case studies are needed for a B.Arch thesis?
The COA regulations do not set a number. Schools do: Shivaji University's 2018 syllabus, for example, asks for two live, at least one book and at least one net case study. Check your own thesis brief.
What is the difference between a case study and a literature study?
A literature study reviews books, papers, codes and standards on your topic. A literature case study analyses one specific building using published material. A live case study analyses a building you visit.
Do I need permission to photograph a building for a case study?
For private and institutional buildings, ask the owner or manager in writing first, as a matter of courtesy and access (MOA guidance). At ASI-protected monuments, hand-held photography is allowed, but tripods and extra lights need written permission from an archaeological officer.
What scale should measured drawings be?
Syllabi usually say "a suitable architectural scale". As MOA guidance, 1:50 suits plans and sections of small buildings, 1:100 or 1:200 larger ones, and 1:10 or 1:20 details.
Finished a strong study? Put your case studies and portfolio on MOA, free.
Sources
- Council of Architecture: Minimum Standards of Architectural Education Regulations, 2020 (Gazette of India) (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- School of Planning and Architecture, Vijayawada: ARC121 Basic Design II lecture plan, B.Arch II semester, 2024-25 (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- Shivaji University, Kolhapur: Syllabus for Bachelor of Architecture, Semesters IX and X, from June 2018 (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- Mohanlal Sukhadia University, College of Architecture: B.Arch Teaching Scheme and Syllabus, effective 2021-22 (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- US National Park Service: HABS Guidelines, Recording Historic Structures and Sites with HABS Measured Drawings, December 2008 (accessed 16 Oct 2026)
- Archaeological Survey of India: FAQs (accessed 16 Oct 2026)