What is a bird’s-eye view?

A bird’s-eye view is a perspective representation in which the viewpoint lies far above the object. You look down from above and at a distance at a building, site or neighbourhood, like a bird flying high in the air. The counterpart is the worm’s-eye view, in which you look up from below. In Dutch it is called vogelvluchtperspectief or vogelperspectief.

In Dutch the term vogelvluchtperspectief (“bird-in-flight perspective”) is sometimes considered more accurate than vogelperspectief, because it concerns the view of a flying bird, not of a bird on the ground.

Characteristics

• High horizon: the horizon lies high in or even above the image, so you see a lot of roofs, grounds and surroundings.
• Vanishing points: three vanishing points are often used, one of them far below the image. This is not always necessary; sometimes two are enough.
• Straight down: a special form is the perspective in which the “bird” looks straight down, with one vanishing point. It is used as a perspective plan view of a room or square.
• Cut-away: sometimes part of the building is omitted so you can look into the structure or layout.

Applications

Bird’s-eye views are used to give an overall picture of a project in its surroundings. You see them in sketch designs and preliminary designs, in urban plans, in brochures for new housing developments and in planning applications to show how a building fits into its surroundings. Historic town maps drawn in bird’s-eye view are also a rich source for building history research.

Tips for making one yourself

• Start with a plan to scale and choose a viewpoint diagonally above a corner of the building. That way you see two facades and the roof at the same time.
• Do not overdo it: a very high viewpoint gives strong distortion. A moderate height looks more natural.
• Use software: with a 3D model in a drawing program you can create a correct bird’s-eye view in a few clicks and compare different viewpoints.
• Add scale: trees, cars and people make the size of the building immediately readable.

Related terms

• Worm’s-eye view
• Central perspective
• Sketch design
• Floor plan

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