Divisions of the Primary Mass
It now becomes imperative to carry the designing processes still further and divide the vertical or horizontal primary mass into parts or divisions, demanded either by structural requirements or because the appearance of the object would be materially improved by their presence. This latter point is sometimes referred to as the aesthetic requirement of the problem. There are two simple types of divisions, those crossing the primary mass horizontally and those crossing the primary mass in a vertical direction. This chapter will be limited to the subject of horizontal divisions.
Nature and Need of Horizontal Space Divisions
If a city purchases a piece of land for park purposes, presumably a landscape architect is assigned the task of laying out the paths and drives. He does this by crossing his plan at intervals with lines to represent paths connecting important points. Under favorable conditions the architect is free to curve his path to suit his ideas. He has considerable freedom in selecting his design but the paths or roads must dip and curve in sympathy with the contour of the land and in accord with the aesthetic requirements.
While the landscape designer has a broad latitude in his treatment of land divisions, the industrial designer or architect is restricted, on the other hand, by the structural requirements of the object and by his materials. He must cross his spaces or areas by horizontal shelves, or rails, or bands of metal that hold the structure together. As architecture is of fundamental importance in industrial design, let us see what the architect has in mind in designing a structure.
Plate 6
Architectural Horizontal Divisions