Working Drawings, Copies and Specifications

Copying multiple sets of drawings was required so that every builder or craftsman involved in the construction could see what was required and complete their part of the process. Early copying processes included pricking out designs onto a second sheet of paper using a sharpened tool. From the 1850s drafters could use tracing papers and cloths, and a pantograph to enlarge drawings, which still required much patient work at the drawing table. Finally some photo-mechanical copying became possible from 1870s onwards, and blueprinting after 1880s, with an increasing range of options developing in the 1900s. Collins and Sons note in the firm’s history that tracing out drawings was laborious work. “This meant night work, which was done with a row of guttering candles along the top of the drawing board."

Drawings were not the only documentation required once a contract was secured. Apart from the legal contract itself, calculations and specifications had to be prepared and might be written out by hand or typed. Specifications were immensely detailed and required that the architects have a sound grasp of building codes, materials, and engineering standards. Getting the details right was essential, as the specifications were the document on which tenders from contractors would be based. The specification for the 1908 Chemical Laboratory at Canterbury College for instance, provides details not just for doors in general, but for basement doors, front door frames, front doors, 2” doors, folding doors, swing doors and fireproof doors. The document then goes on to set out materials, sizes, method of opening, methods of fastening, and inclusion of windows for each type of door.

Between 1860 and 1940, architectural firms increasingly ran as independent professional businesses. Firms might employ drafters, administrators, engineers and apprentice architects. To share the workload, the principle architect would complete the concept designs, and then rely on employees to provide specialized skills to progress each contract.