#HTE

Design Discussion: How Would You Design a Modern-Day Grandfather Clock?

Question: If you’re re-designing an object that has a long history, do you feel compelled to somehow integrate that history into the design? Or do you feel progress is only made by throwing out the past and reaching for fresh forms?

I’ll try to clarify that question using an example.

Grandfather clocks, originally called longcase clocks, were once desirable household items because they kept accurate time. That ability depended on its mechanicals, which in turn dictated their tall form factor.

Verge escapement

A brief explanation: Prior to the invention of grandfather clocks, mechanical clocks were constructed using what’s called a verge escapement, what you see at left. An escapement is the mechanism that turns energy into the oscillating motion required to make a clock work.

This is what you’d have seen inside medieval clock towers. The verge–that’s the green crown-like wheel–was driven by gears powered by a pendulum that swung in a wide arc, covering roughly 80 to 100 degrees. That long swing, with its attendant air drag, led to inaccuracy over time.

Anchor escapement

Then came, in the mid-17th-Century, the development of the anchor escapement, shown at left. This clever set-up reduced the swing of the pendulum to just 4 to 6 degrees, rather than 80 to 100. This massive reduction meant that not only was the clock more accurate, but they could be built in a form factor that would fit inside of a home.

All of that is a long way of saying, that’s why grandfather clocks are shaped the way they are. The clock is at face level for obvious reasons, and the long body, or longcase I should say, is to contain the pendulum and the weights that drive it.

Grandfather clocks were of course superceded in accuracy by electric and quartz clocks in the early 20th Century.

Fun Fact: In the 1920s Herman Miller had a clockmaking division. In 1937 this was spun off under the leadership of Herman’s son, Howard. Today the Howard Miller Clock Company still exists–and still makes grandfather clocks.

I looked up some modern-day grandfather clock designs and was disappointed with what I found:

There’s no homage paid to the object’s original workings. These just seem, at least to me, to be arbitrary forms that achieve height for the face. 

Even a Howard Miller clock you can buy today disappointed me with both its proportions and materials choices.

This is the only one I found that I liked even a little:

This is all subjective of course, but I don’t like the way the circular face doesn’t quite relate to the top of the form. But overall I like the flowing lines, and to me the flare at the bottom is evocative of the swing of the long-gone pendulum (this clock is powered by a battery).

Your thoughts? If you were tasked with designing a grandfather clock, would you feel beholden to its mechanical history and obsolescence, or would you start from scratch?