What is the origin of the eight foot dimension that is so common for
North American celings? Who is responsible for standardizing this
dimension and when? |
Request for Question Clarification by
cath-ga
on
30 Oct 2002 11:47 PST
I have one architect's answer to your question, and have e-mails out
to find supporting answers. cath-ga
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Clarification of Question by
maxpower-ga
on
30 Oct 2002 14:38 PST
What clarification is required?
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Clarification of Question by
maxpower-ga
on
12 Nov 2002 20:20 PST
The American Standards Association, the American Institute of
Acrhitects and the Porducers Council formed a joint counil called the
A62 committee on modular coordination. Also search the term Modular
Service Association. Between 1939-45, this committee researched
modularization of building products and dimensions. The result was a
recommended 4 inch module. At some point between 1934 and 1946 the US
government or some other body made eight feet the standard for
American ceiling heights. After 1945, North America experienced the
greatest amount of building (esp. residential) in history. Many of
these houses were built with eight foot ceilings. The sheer amount of
residential construction affected the entire building industry.
Building materials such as drywall and plywood were standardized to
fit the eight foor ceiling. Commerical office bldgs now commonly have
eight foot ceilings. Schools, hospitals, etc. all have eight foot
ceilings. In fact, most buildings designed with any architectural
consideration have eight foot ceilings.
Other background information:
It is possible that the standards were developed to fit into common
building practice. It is also possible that Veterans Affairs or
another government agency would only fund eight foot ceilings.
The original framing style in North America was called balloon
framing. The studs used in this wall system were 16-20 feet long.
Fire codes and material supply forced builders to move to the western
platform framing system that is in current use.
Architect Rudolf Schindler mentioned the eight foot ceiling in an
article in 1946 called "reference frames in space", but he designed
custom houses.
In 1955, the Magazine House & Home hosted a roundtable discussion to
detemine a modular standard for American kitchens. The eight foot
ceiling was recoginized as an existing standard at this point.
Another term is merchant builder home.
So, when and who officially standardized this dimension? And if it is
not too much to ask why?
Good luck and thanks.
|
maxpower --
Eight-foot ceilings became a very common feature of American homes as
a direct result of the pervasive influence of the "Prairie School" of
architecture on American tastes and the development of mass-produced
residential building materials of standardized dimensions. This trend
culminated in the "ranch" and "split-level" styles that dominated the
American residential home building industry in the 1950s and 60s.
The name, Prairie School, is applied to the style of architecture
inspired by Louis Sullivan and developed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It
was implemented largely in the very productive early period of
Wright's long career, between about 1900 and 1920.
The Prairie School homes of Wright and his followers were
characterized by a "low, long horizontal form." The implementation of
this design principle required ceilings that were relatively low
(compared to "classical" dimensions). The following link describes a
representative example of a Wright-designed Prairie Style house,
including its distinctive low ceilings:
Article on the saving of Wright's only Prairie Style house in Ohio
CNN.com
http://www.cnn.com/2000/STYLE/design/11/30/wright.house.ap/
A comprehensive look at Prairie School architecture, with numerous
examples of its horizontal emphasis, can be found at the following
link:
"The Prairie Style: 1900-1920"
About.com
http://architecture.about.com/library/bl-prairie.htm
As noted at the outset, among the legacies of the Prairie School were
its influence on the basic horizontal design of the tremendously
popular "ranch" and "split-level" homes of the 1950s and 60s,
including the standardization of their typical eight-foot ceilings.
The following excerpts attest to that conclusion:
"Prairie Style would standardize eight-foot ceilings, pioneer attached
garages, and is an architectural ancestor to the split-level rancher
of the 1950s."
Prairie Style Quiz
HGTV.com
http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/rm_architecture_styles/article/0,1797,HGTV_3664_1396455,00.html
"[T]here are certain [Prairie Style] influences that remained with us
in the 60s and continue to today. Among those are our standard eight
foot ceilings."
"What is the Prairie Style? Commentary by Edward Dickinson, III"
About.com
http://architecture.about.com/library/weekly/aa060799b.htm
"The Prairie School became history, but its influence, especially its
geometry, horizontal emphasis, and the open simplicity of its floor
plans, can be seen in the streamlined looks of the thirties to the
common "Ranch" which is still being built."
"The Enduring Influence of the Prairie School"
http://infosys.pls.uni.edu/BltEned/prarie/conclusion.html
"The rambling, no-nonsense Ranch styles became dominant in the United
States during the 1950s and 1960s. If you live in the suburbs, there's
a good chance your home is a Western Ranch, American Ranch, or
California Rambler."
About.com
http://architecture.about.com/library/bl-styles_index.htm
Of course, standardized design requires standardized manufacturing
processes in order to be implemented. As the writer cited by
commenter resolutionman-ga below
points out ( http://www.jkthomas.com/newspape.htm ), the development
of modular building material undoubtedly encouraged economically
efficient uniformity in the construction of those popular ranch and
split-level houses in the mid-20th century.
Finally, it is worth noting that, reflecting the evolution in consumer
tastes, the housing industry no longer considers eight-foot ceilings
to be "standard."
"U.S. Lumber Consumption Trends" (about 2/3 down the page)
Structural Building Components Magazine
http://www.structuralbcmag.com/inarchive/2002.06.htm
Additional Links:
More on Prairie Style architecture
http://www.leyden212.org/mic/01-02/HIPGR11/Webpage%20Stuff/Prairie%20Style.html
Images of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings
http://www.leyden212.org/mic/01-02/HIPGR11/Webpage%20Stuff/Prairie%20Style.html
Frank Lloyd Wright links
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/1469/flw_life.html
Search Terms Used;
residences OR residential eight-foot ceilings standard OR conventional
prairie-style OR "prairie style" eight-foot OR "eight foot" ceilings
frank lloyd wright "prairie school" period
ranch OR "ranch-style" homes popular
If you need any clarification of any of the above, I would be happy to
provide it.
markj-ga |
Request for Answer Clarification by
maxpower-ga
on
03 Nov 2002 20:08 PST
There are a few problems with the answer that you provided. First,
the prairie style homes of Frank Lloyd Wright had varied ceiling
heights. Many of the ceilings were 7 feet or lower. Secondly, these
homes were custom designed homes made from building materials that
were custom fabricated or specified for the particular home. How and
when did this dimension become the North American standard? "Among
those are our standard eight foot ceilings. Many of the Prairie Style
ideas have been so accepted into the mainstream of housing, that in
our general acceptance of these features, we have lost our link back
to their origins."
My own research has found that in 1936 the eight foot ceiling was not
a standard. Even the father of modularization Albert Farwell Bemis
did not mention eight feet as the standard in his writing. In the
50s, an article on standardizing the dimensions of the American
kitchen says that eight feet is the standard height. So between these
to points in history the eight foot ceiling became the standard.
Here's a possible clue. In 1945 the American Standards Association's
A62 committee published a report arguing for the 4 inch module to be
made the standard. Another key is the mass production of housing
following the second world war. Many of these homes were financed
through Veteran Affairs. Another key could be the industrialization
of building products. Maybe the eight foot dimension of drywall holds
the key? My feeling is that there was a point when the federal
government decided that eight feet would become the American standard.
The following article says that nine, ten foot ceiling are not the
standard. Certainly in commercial and industrial office space eight
feet is still the standard.
http://realtytimes.com/rtnews/rtcpages/20010522_ceilings.htm
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Clarification of Answer by
markj-ga
on
04 Nov 2002 06:48 PST
maxpower --
I very much appreciate your request for a clarification of the answer
rather than simply giving it a low rating.
I regret that I did not understand that a fully responsive answer to
your question would require a specific event and date that pinpointed
the "standardization" of residential eight-foot ceilings. Assuming
that you remain less than fully satisfied after my clarification,
please exercise your right to withdraw the question, request a refund
and repost the question if you like for other researchers to attempt
to answer.
After considerable research, I believed that documenting the generally
accepted link between Prairie Style architecture and the derivative,
simplified ranch/split-level housing design that dominated the 50s and
60s was responsive to the first half of your question, which seeks the
"origin of the eight-foot dimension that is so common in North
American ceilings." I did not intend to imply that Prairie Style
houses had uniform eight-foot ceilings or uniform ceilings of any
dimension. Of course, as you point out, they did not. My point was
to establish that the low profile and low ceilings of Prairie Style
homes directly resulted in the typical, uniformly low ceilings
(compared to classical dimensions) in the tremendously popular
post-war housing styles of the 50s and 60s.
Since these homes were produced in great numbers and were extremely
popular, it is not surprising that the marketplace economics of
manufacturing and construction resulted in some "standardization" of
their components, including ceiling heights. I have found no evidence
that government regulation, as opposed to market forces, was
responsible for this standardization or for the choice of eight feet.
These market forces at work would likely have included the elements
you list above, such as post-war industrialization of building
materials, the post-war replacement of plaster by manageable and
economical 4X8 drywall panels and the booming post-war housing market.
Since standardization by market processes occurs only gradually, an
authoritative answer to the "who and when" of such standardization
would not be possible.
I alluded in my answer to the role of mass production of post-war
housing and market-driven standardization of manufacturing processes,
but my research revealed no event or entity which dictated the
selection of eight feet for ceilings rather than, say, seven. As
noted above, my error with regard to the second half of your question
was not recognizing that a fully responsive answer must include a
specific event and time that pinpointed the specific eight-foot
standard that evolved.
As for my statement and citation to the effect that eight-foot
ceilings are no longer "standard," I did not intend to imply that
nine-foot (or higher) ceilings have become a new residential standard,
but only that they are increasingly demanded by home buyers.
Finally, since your question did not mention commercial ceilings, I
did not research that aspect of construction standardization, but I
suspect that cost considerations play a larger role in keeping
commercial ceiling heights low than they do in the housing market.
Again, thank you for seeking an answer clarification and please feel
free to seek a refund if you are not totally satisfied with my answer
and clarification. I found your question to be very interesting, and
I hope you ultimately get the specificity that you are seeking.
markj-ga
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
maxpower-ga
on
06 Nov 2002 20:45 PST
I would like to resubmit the question with all the information that
the researcher found. I think an answer is very close. Do I ask for
a refund and resubmit?
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Clarification of Answer by
markj-ga
on
07 Nov 2002 04:51 PST
I am looking into how to accomplish what you want to do. I will post
another answer clarification when I find out.
markj-ga
|
Clarification of Answer by
markj-ga
on
07 Nov 2002 12:30 PST
maxpower-ga -
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Again, I hope you get the specificity you are looking for. I spent
quite a bit of time on your interesting question, and I wouldn't want
the results to go for naught.
markj-ga
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