November, 1920 
37 
The preliminary sketch is really a picture of the finished house, drawn in perspective and usually 
colored. It shows the house with its surrounding planting well established, and gives a definite 
idea of what the house is to look like. H. T. Lindeberg, architect 
THE EVOLUTION OF A HOUSE PLAN 
The Successive Steps by Which the Architect Sets Down on Paper the General Plan and the 
Minutest Details of the House He Is Designing for You 
MATLACK PRICE 
T HE good old proverbs, the kind that 
Stevenson so drily labeled “pocket wis¬ 
dom,” certainly have not universal applica¬ 
tion. In the matter of having a house built for 
yourself, for instance, I cannot honestly say 
that ignorance is bliss, or that wisdom could be 
construed as folly. And yet the kind of knowl¬ 
edge I mean is a special kind, and consists of 
knowing, if even only a little, how the architect 
works and what he is trying to do; not aiming 
to know more than he does. Notwithstanding 
the lack of intelligence of such a procedure, 
there are plenty of prospective builders who, 
after devoting a few whole evenings to the 
perusal of “How to Plan Your Own Home,” 
or “What Alice and George Did with Old 
Packing Cases,” will go to the architect not 
for advice and professional service, but to tell 
him how much more they know than he about 
architecture. 
It is the purpose of this article, with its illus¬ 
trations, to describe, in categorical form, the 
successive drawings which are customarily 
made by the architect in planning and building 
a house. 
The upper drawing is part of an “F. S. D.” 
or Full Size Detail. These details show, 
primarily, the actual profiles of moldings, 
and are drawn exactly the same size as the 
work to be executed 
hirst there is the idea-sketch, often no more 
than a memorandum, dashed off on a scrap of 
paper. If, however, this little idea-sketch rep¬ 
resents a definite visualization on the part of 
the architect, it is upon this sketch that all the 
subsequent drawings are built. 
Having made this idea-sketch, and being 
conviced that it contains the essence of the pro¬ 
posed house, the architect must now prepare a 
drawing which will convey to the prospective 
builder a quite definite idea of what the house 
is to look like. Small sketch floor plans usu¬ 
ally accompany this first drawing. 
This drawing is really a picture, drawn in 
perspective and usually colored. It shows the 
house with its planting several years grown, 
and is made on the basis that the average indi¬ 
vidual is not “picture-minded,” and must see 
the proposed house drawn to convey as closely 
as possible the effect of the house itself. This 
type of drawing is called a “preliminary.” 
At this juncture scale models are sometimes 
made, especially for houses oi considerable 
size and extensiveness of plan and grounds. 
(Continued on page 78) 
At the left is a V/>” scale detail. Its func¬ 
tion is to show with greater accuracy than 
the Yi," drawings such special pieces of 
construction as stairs, fireplaces and cup¬ 
boards. Both drawings are actual size 
