Industrial Arts Design. William H. Varnum

      (e) Construct the project.

SUGGESTED PROBLEMS

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      Design a nasturtium bowl, applying Rules 1a, 1b, 2a. Design a writing table 2 feet 6 inches high with three horizontal divisions.

SUMMARY OF RULES

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      Rule 2a. If the primary mass is divided into two horizontal divisions, the dominance should be either in the upper or the lower section.

      Rule 2b. If the primary mass is divided into three horizontal divisions or sections, the dominance should be placed in the center section with varying widths in the upper and lower thirds.

REVIEW QUESTIONS

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      1. State two methods of subdividing the primary mass.

      2. Define the nature and need of horizontal space divisions.

      3. Give five steps to be used in designing a foot stool or piano bench.

      4. What point constitutes a horizontal division in the contour of a simple clay bowl?

      5. State the rule governing two horizontal space divisions and furnish illustrations in wood, clay, and metal.

      6. Give the rule governing three horizontal space divisions and supply illustrations in wood, clay, and metal.

      7. State five steps in the designing of a project in the industrial arts involving the use of horizontal structural divisions.

Plate 11

Chapter IV

       VERTICAL MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE PRIMARY MASS

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      Nature and Need of Vertical Space Division

      The design of the primary mass has now been considered under Rules 1a and 1b, and its horizontal divisions under Rules 2a and 2b. The next logical step is the consideration of the nature of the lines that cross the primary mass in a vertical direction. In the original planning of the primary mass it was found that the horizontal bounding lines and the horizontal divisions were parallel to the base line of an object and that the base line was necessary to ensure stability. Vertical lines are necessary and equally important to give the needed vertical support to an object.

      So accustomed is the eye to vertical lines in tree trunks, tall buildings, and thousands of other examples that the upward eye movement in viewing an object, having a predominance of vertical elements, seemingly adds to its height.

      The designer thus has a most useful device with which to increase the apparent height of an object that, for structural or other reasons, must in reality not have great height. Chapter III drew attention to the influence of horizontal lines on a project. Vertical lines on an object are found to produce an analogous effect vertically.

      Architectural Precedent for Vertical Divisions

      Gothic cathedral builders used the vertical line, repeated again and again in buttresses, pinnacles, and spires to give great apparent height to a building and to make it a unified vertical mass of great beauty. The modern church spire, together with the long, vertical interior columns, similarly affects our present day church edifices.

Plate 12

      This idea of repeating the vertical bounding lines of the primary mass by cutting the mass into vertical spaces is also useful in breaking up or destroying the monotony of large unbroken surfaces. Pilasters may cut the front of a building into interesting spaces; piers may break up the regularity of a long fence; legs and panels may, each for the same purpose, cross a cabinet. While some of these may be structurally necessary and some not, they are all witnesses to the desire to produce beauty in design. As these examples are so numerous in the industrial arts, it is well to study in detail their proper adaptation to our needs.

      One Vertical Space Division

      Upon analyzing one vertical space division, it will be found to be a primary mass, vertical in character and governed by Rule 1a. Figure 25, Plate 12, illustrates one vertical division. The foot is an appendage to be considered in Chapter V.

      Rule 3a. If the primary mass is divided into two vertical divisions, the divisions should be equal in area and similar in form. Exception may be made in case of structural requirements. By imagining two adjacent doors of equal size, the design effect of two vertical divisions may be made clear. Plate 11 illustrates a rectangle (A) divided in this manner, preliminary to the development of a problem. Figure 27, Plate 12, represents the type of object to which the exception to the rule may be applied. In the design of this desk, the structure practically prohibits two equal vertical divisions, necessitating an unequal division in the section occupied by the drawers.

      Two Vertical Space Divisions

      In Plate 12, Figure 26, the designer had his vertical spacings dictated by service in the form of two doors. As service demands a tall vertical primary mass, it is but natural to design the doors to conform with the primary mass. This gives a monotonously long space for the glass panels and suggests structural weakness. To relieve this the designer applied Rule 2a and crossed the vertical panels by horizontal subdivisions, relieving the monotony and still retaining the unity of the primary mass.

      Two Vertical Divisions in Wood

      In Figure 27 his problem was a variation of that presented in Figure 26. Structural limitations called for unequal divisions of the vertical space arrangement. The left portion of the desk becomes dominant as demanded by service. The drawer or brace is necessary in this design as it acts as a sort of link, binding the two vertical legs together. The omission of the drawer would destroy the unity of the mass.

Plate 13

      Two Vertical Divisions in Clay

      As vertical space divisions are principally applicable to rectilinear or flat objects and moreover as it is in such forms only that they have structural value, they are not commonly met in cylindrical pottery ware. Vertical divisions are, however, occasionally used in architectural tiles and other flat wall objects. As three divisions are much more commonly used in clay