Hi, Gang!
Indeed, 'tis good to see Manual (Personual?) Drawing back in the discussion! Several months ago, there was a long string about this, and in the process I met several fellow, happy dinosaurs.
But first, an aside on a recent comment:
1. It doesn't take just a texter (or tweeter) to have bad grammar, or ---
2. To not be able to figure the sales-tax before getting to the check-out, or ---
3. To not know when the Millennium actually arrived...
Anyhow ---
Old-timers?
One writer said there couldn't be too-many folks left who started-out on manual drafting at work. But that's the early '80s, "only" 35 years ago, which is not, to me, a full career. So, I'd guess most folks who started then, are still at it. Especially with Architects; people ask me about "retirement" (I'm 71). My response is; "Never! Most Architects never retire; we just draw to a conclusion..."
My "History of CAD(D)":
1966:
In 1966, our amazing Dean Bruno Leon, at the University of Detroit School of Architecture, (then 6-year B.Arch., w/ lots of co-op work) brought-in a guest speaker. A man from General Motors showed-off a new computer-powered Design tool they'd developed, showing the latest Corvette concept model ["Mako Shark"] being smoothly rotated for views all-around, and from above-&-below. We were all duly amazed. And the cost of that system was now below ten-million Dollars! Dean Leon said we'd all be drawing that way, someday...
1966:
In my first job in an Architects' office, all work was of course manual, on vellum. CADD was never even dreamed of. The Secretary was dreaming of getting an IBM Selectric typewriter (the one with the type-faces on interchangeable "balls", for a readily-switchable choice of fonts --- a very creative analog concept).
1978:
About 8 offices later, CADD was still NOT being seriously discussed, if discussed at all. In one office in '78, the guy behind me was fooling-around with CADD, but only on his own, on a wee little, early computer.
1980:
As I started in my last job in someone else's office (Dec. '80, stayed 3-1/2 years), all work was manual, now generally on Mylar. It was "large" for an Architectural office (16-to-20 people). With manual work, there was a wonderful comradery, as we all worked 60-to-70-or-so hours a week, with the music cranked on Saturdays and Sundays. Is there any of that in current offices? We had a couple of great "Green Visors", Professional Drafters, who had little care for Design, but knew the Code, and construction detailing, cold, and so could crank-out amazing "Working Drawings" (now "CDs"). This was before energy-considerations came along, so detailing was far, far simpler... (The actual green visor faded-away mid-century, but the term stuck.) And Dick Wilson had a wonderful sense of humor. When we were all really cranking, I enjoyed hearing the "happy slap" of all those drafting tools. Around '82/'83, 1-or-2 jobs (not "projects") were done on the pin-register drawing system. What a dog! It demanded perfection (uh-uh), and of course de-registered on the now-still-standard rotary-printing systems. Nobody had flat-plate printers, for 32" x 40" sheets, or even 24"x 36". So, we dumped that.
1984:
I went out on my own, mid-year, sort-of-assuming that I'd switch to CADD someday.
Mid-1990s:
My favorite local Land Surveyor, Tom Wilson, very generously gave me an extensive look at his all-CAD home office (this is about when the second "D" was D-leted.). After all the discussions of capital costs, renewal charges and re-learning curves on revisions, maintenance, etc., I was convinced...NO WAY!! Surveyors now, probably more than most other drawing professionals, are very, very married to CAD, with GIS driving it all now.
2017:
Like recent contributor Leah Greenwald AIA, I am solo, doing small projects, manually. Design meetings are at the Clients' kitchen or dining-room table, and I'm paid at the end of each meeting. We step outside when visualization is being discussed. I love this work, and I'm a night-owl (Architecture 101 requirement), so I could care less when meetings occur. For young couples, I offer "after bedtime" (usually +/- 21:00 start-time) meetings, when the house is quiet(er). For business-owners, there's always the 5:30-or-so meeting (we can toast the sunrise w/ our coffees). And, uh, what is this "weekend" thing I hear people talking about?
When people ask me about CAD, and animated fly-throughs, etc., I readily concede that manual work now is only for the small projects that I, and some few others, do. There aren't 5 other disciplines sharing drawings, there's no BIM, etc. We draw our drawings, and our small jobs get built by local G.C.s who drive their own pick-ups and swing their own nail-guns, and we generally have happy Clients...
Wrap:
Whew, finally! At some point soon, I'll discuss my drawing methods...
Thanks ---
Bill
william j. devlin aia, inc.,
ARCHITECT
Springfield, MA