Architecture Notes Jun 2026

Create a base page with your initial parti diagram. Use tracing paper (analog) or a new layer (digital) to develop the next iteration. Keep both visible. This layering technique in your preserves the design trajectory and helps you explain your decisions later.

When new engineers join a team, reading source code is an incredibly slow way to build a mental model.A curated collection of architecture notes acts as a historical map.It allows new hires to understand the evolution of the system in hours instead of weeks. The Core Blueprint of a Great Architecture Note

The relationship between a building's mass (solids) and the areas within or around it (cavities) defines the spatial experience. Structure: architecture notes

This layout makes review and self-quizzing very efficient.

To build the best kit, you don't need the most expensive gear; you need the right gear. Create a base page with your initial parti diagram

Embodied carbon data, EPD availability, and recycled content percentages.

Notes are still curated. No one publishes their truly chaotic, banal, or failed pages. The “raw” look is often a constructed aesthetic. This can mislead readers into romanticizing disorganization. This layering technique in your preserves the design

: The articulation of a form or space by making it uniquely sized, shaped, or placed to signify importance.

When conducting a site visit, your notes must capture environmental and spatial realities quickly. Structure your field notes chronologically using a strict template:

What (e.g., GitHub, Notion, Confluence) does your team currently use for documentation?

where raw, creative human instinct transforms into enduring built reality. Far from being mere technical scribbles, these notes are a living archive—capturing light, spatial geometry, structural physics, and philosophical ideas. Understanding the art and science of documentation is essential for anyone aiming to analyze, design, or appreciate the structures that frame our daily lives.