In the present times, as the digital world is progressing, virtual storage space is increasing as well. At a very small price, you can buy a lot of storage space on the cloud and other online networking services. In the physical world, the condition is not the same. At one point, we do run of the storage space unless the spaces are not used and maintained nicely. Be it a whole floor or one tiny room office/space, keeping it tidy is important.
In the case of architectural spaces or offices, this condition gets even more complex. There are so many things to store like architectural drawings, blueprints and more. If these things are not arranged properly and are not in reach whenever required, it can create quite a mess while searching for one specific one.
There are many types of options available in the market for architectural drawing storage but there are a few things you must keep in mind before buying or installing something in your office space.
You must look for adjustable and flexible storage, which can use the maximum of available space for storage instead of leaving nooks around.
Instead of choosing the common drawing storage cabinet, opt for adaptable storage items. Like if you do not have much space on the floor, then you can have floor-to-ceiling supports and brackets for a blank wall.
Best way to use every nook and cranny of the room is to have custom office storage. Talk to your designer, what exactly you are looking for and he will do his magic.
While doing this change in storage, always keep in mind to mix different storage elements to balance the space. Having just bulky items will only degrade the space.
Coming over to the topic, below are our best and creative options for architectural drawing storage:
1. Box storage cabinet with compartments
This is the most common type of storage cabinet at any architectural space or office. Reason being, drawing is easy to arrange and access in these. The only negative point of these cabinets is that the drawings are kept in rolls and each one needs to open to find the required one. Various options available in this category are:
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Adir Corrugated Cardboard 16 Roll File Upright Storage Cabinet
This is a small and compact white corrugated cardboard cabinet, which can be moved very easily. It carries 16 roles at a time with a varied length of 25 inches and 37 inches. One of the plus points about this cabinet is its small size and compact shape which saves a lot of floor space as it can be stacked as well. It fits in small spaces and can be moved easily. It has a very sturdy and strong top, which keeps all the drawing protected from the tear. It can be labelled from the top and front as well making it pretty handy. This storage cabinet is actually quite economical as compared to the others, available in the market.
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Adir Office Mobile Wood Blueprint Roll File – Sturdy, Heavy Duty Large Document Organizer
This is another great product of Adir with very high storage capacity from 20 to 50 slots. It comes furnished in black, mahogany and white with vinyl laminate white finish. So, you can pick according to storage requirements as well as your interior demands. It can be lifted easily by side handles and of course, it has four swivelling casters for better movement because sometimes it might get difficult to lift it up because of its size and weight. It provides very easy access to the required document because of its design.
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Safco Products 3043 Mobile Roll File, 21 Compartment
This cabinet can also be used as a blueprint storage cabinet and has 21 square tube compartments for rolls/ drawings. It has swivel carpet casters at the bottom, which makes it very easy for the moment though it can be picked very easily through built-in side handles. It is one of the fancy pieces because of a textured vinyl laminate white finish, perfect for a modern space. It easily blends in with the lighter hues of the interiors of the office space. Its high weight carrying capacity gives it an extra edge.
2. Steel rod storage cabinet
Drawing storage cabinet of this type is considered to be quite exposed ones. It is considered as one of the best options to store drawing if there are any chances of silverfish eating your work as it provides full ventilation to whatever being stored in them. Whereas as these have exposed storage, many people don’t prefer it because they feel it doesn’t give a good impression to an architectural office. Nobody wants to see tons and tons of architectural drawing or do they? Best reviewed options on Amazon in this category are:
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Alvin WRF38 King-Size Roll File
This specific rod storage cabinet has 4 big slots, of 8” x 8” each, instead of many smaller ones to keep any required item. It is an ideal organizer as it can accommodate blueprints, architect drawing tube and what not. So you can keep whatever you wish to, of any size, which is actually a plus point over others. Like previous box cabinets, it also has swivel casters for better movement. As this is an exposed cabinet, the user can see clearly and it’s very convenient to access whatever they want.
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Alvin WRF40 Wire Bin Roll File 20 Slots
This Alvin product is also as good as the previous with a slight difference. It has 20 small slots, of 4” x 4” each, for “architectural drawings storage”, blueprint, posters or anything related. It is constructed of black plastic coated heavy gauge steel rods, making it very strong and durable as compared to the others available in the market. Its size and swivel casters make it perfect for small spaces. If you want to place it beside your working table or desk, this will make a perfect piece for that too.
3. Vertical Blueprint/Drawing Storage
If you are one of those people who like to display their architectural drawings or blueprints for future reference or any other reason, this storage option is especially for you.
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Brookside Design MVPC Heavy Duty Vertical Blueprint Storage Mobile Plan Center
The great thing about this storage option, that it can actually hold up to 1200 sheets. It is a drawing holder which can be expanded vertically and horizontally according to the requirement of the sheet, which needs to be hung. So, basically in this drawing sheet holder, sheets are hanged with the clamps, maximum 12 at a time, which can be of different sizes if you want, though they need to be bought separately. It comes with mobility option too.
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Adir Corp. Pivot Wall Rack with Hangers for Blueprints
This is a wall hanging option of the previous product if you don’t have much floor space. It has a total capacity of 1200 sheets as well, with 100 sheets per clamp, through various clamp sizes available. According to the need of the user, it can be mounted at any height for easy access to the desired drawings. One of the plus point of this storage option, that the clamps can be moved according to the need, they are not fixed permanently.
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Brookside Design VRW85 High Capacity Blueprint Storage Roll File Wall Rack
If you can’t even afford as much space as wall clamps, you must go for roll file wall rack as it can store oversized rolled documents. It can be as high as 5 feet, making it perfect for the user of any height. This heavy-duty welded steel frame is designed to carry very heavy weight comfortably.
4. Miscellaneous
So, options provided by us in this category are not specifically for architectural drawing storage or blueprints but are perfect for that too. If you are on a creative end and like to create spaces your way, you must try these.