Industrial Arts Design. William H. Varnum

Plate 7

      (b) Many objects are designed within rectangles which enclose their main or over-all proportions. With this in view, and keeping in mind the width of the bench necessary to the accommodation of two players and the requirements of a well proportioned primary mass (Rule 1b), the lines are now drawn completing the rectangular boundaries of the primary mass. The limitations of service and the restrictions of good designing give the width of the primary mass so designed as three feet and two inches, with a ratio of height to length of five to eight and one-half. It is simpler to design first the most prominent face of the object to be followed by other views later in the designing process.

      (c) By observing benches similar to the one being designed it will be seen that the horizontal divisions will take the form of a rail and a shelf, making two crossings of the primary mass dividing it into three horizontal spaces. Several trial arrangements of these structural elements are now made with the thought of making them conform to the rule governing three horizontal spaces. Rule 2b. We shall later discuss this rule and its applications fully.

      (d) By selecting the best sketch of many which the designer will make he has the basis for the application of Rule 2b for the structural elements. The project now begins to take on concrete form. The top board may project slightly beyond the primary mass without materially affecting the value of the designed proportions.

      Value of a Full Size Drawing

      (e) The last step is the designing of the side view in relation to the front view. This enables the designer to comprehend the project as a whole. It is strongly urged that the final or shop drawing be of full size. In more elaborate designs the finer proportions are lost in the process of enlargement from a small sketch, often hurriedly executed in the shop. Again much time is lost by necessary enlargement, whereas a full size curved detail may be quickly transferred to wood by carbon paper or by holes pricked in the paper. It is not expensive or difficult to execute full size drawings; it is in accord with shop practice and the custom should be encouraged and followed on all possible occasions. See Figure 102a.

      The process of designing round objects is identical to that just described as illustrated by the low round bowl in Plate 7. It should be designed in a rectangle of accepted proportions. Rule 1b. The primary mass may have excellent proportions and yet the vase or bowl may remain devoid of interest. It may be commonplace.

Plate 8

      As will shortly be shown, the rules governing horizontal divisions serve as a check on the commonplace. A horizontal division generally marks the point where the outward swell of the vase contour reaches its maximum width. If this widest point in the primary mass (X-Plate 7) is pleasingly located between the top and bottom of a vase form the contour will be found satisfactory.

      Architectural Precedent for Horizontal Divisions

      It is possible to continue ad infinitum with these illustrations but horizontal space divisions are nearly always present in some form, due to structural necessity or aesthetic requirements. It is an easy matter to say that these lines must divide the primary mass into "interesting" spaces, well related to each other, or "pleasingly located," but the designer must have some definite yet flexible rule to govern his work. From the analysis of many famous historic buildings and well designed industrial projects it has been found that all horizontal masses may be analyzed as dividing the primary mass into either two or three divisions or spaces, regardless of the complexity of the project.

Analysis of Horizontal Space Divisions

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      Two Horizontal Space Divisions

      Rule 2a. If the primary mass is divided into two horizontal divisions, the dominance should be either in the upper or the lower section. Plate 7 shows this division of the primary mass—the simplest division of the space. A space divided just half way from top to bottom would be monotonous and expressive of the ratio of one to one. This arrangement as we have already discovered in the second chapter is not conducive to good design.

      By the stated rule, 2a, the varied adjustment of this double horizontal division affords all possible latitude for constructive purposes. It is better to place the division in such a manner that the upper division (or lower) will not appear pinched or dwarfed by comparison with the remaining area. Thus a ratio of one to three, or three to five, or five to eight is better than a ratio of one to one or one to eighteen, but there is no exact or arbitrary ruling on this point.

      Two Horizontal Divisions in Wood

      Figure 8 illustrates two horizontal divisions in wood construction and also the freedom of choice as to exact proportions. The eye will be found a good judge of the proper spacings subject to the limitations already mentioned.

Plate 9

      It is best to keep the design within the limits of two horizontal space divisions in designing cylindrical clay forms, particularly in the elementary exercises. Enough variety will be found to make pleasing arrangements, and the technical results obtained by two divisions are much better than those obtained from a greater number of divisions.

      Two Horizontal Divisions in Clay

      Figures 14, 15, and 16, Plate 9, are clay forms with the dominance placed in either the upper or lower portion of the primary mass. Figure 13 has been used to illustrate the fact that horizontal space division principles are applicable to any material. The horizontal divisions in Figure 13 are due to structural needs. A horizontal line carries this division across to Figure 14, a clay vase. The horizontal division line now becomes the one which marks the widest part of the vase. It gives the same relation between the top and bottom horizontal spaces as in Figure 13. It marks an aesthetic point in the design of the vase, or a variation of the contour, introduced by reason of its effect upon the beauty of the vase, not called for by the needs of actual service.

      A musical composition is often played in an orchestra first by the wood instruments, taken up and repeated by the brasses, then by the strings, and finally played as an harmonious whole by the entire orchestra. There is a close parallel in Figure 12, an adaptation of one of Gustav Stickley's designs. The two-division rule is used in the relations of the plaster and wainscoting; again in the plaster over, and the cement or tile around the fireplace. It is repeated in the arrangement of the copper and cement of the fireplace facing and hood and in the door panels. By repeating again and again similar space divisions the wall space becomes a unified and harmonious whole. Variety is secured by the introduction of three horizontal divisions in the details of the wainscoting. This method of repeating similar space divisions is called "echoing" and is one of the most effective means known for securing the