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

Also: What does Herman Miller's son have to do with this?

By Rain Noe - May 7, 2018

in Object Culture

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.

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Grandfather clocks were of course superceded in accuracy by electric and quartz clocks in the early 20th Century.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

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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.

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

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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?

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Cody McKibben

6 years ago

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I worked on re imagining the GF Clock back in College and this is what I came up with.

https://codyamdesign.myportfolio.com/grandfather-clock

Simplified the form to a thin plane leaning against the wall, moved all numerical indication to the outside of the body to merge the body of the clock and the face of the clock, and changed the pendulum to a static hanging clock face that had a second hand. I used electric movements rather than more traditional would ones, but kept the more ornate form of the clock hands and the Roman numerals for their graphic quality. There are things I would re investigate about this problem for sure but it was a fun pass at it!

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Michael DiTullo

6 years ago

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Here is one I sketched up awhile back: https://youtu.be/eZ844hMw4G4

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Mark Flaming

6 years ago

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Have a look at Erwin Sattler. A German clock maker that is the epitome of form following function. Very clean modern cases with high quality movements visible from all sides.

www.erwinsattler.com

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Austin Liu

6 years ago

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https://youtu.be/sKTck_Xbuyc
At this point, the only thing that would compel me to buy a clock that large is visual interest. I would want a clock whose mechanical parts are both visible and interesting. The clock should ditch the traditional clock face, and use a fancy mechanism akin to those super unconventional Swiss watches with the odd mechanisms. See this attached YouTube link: https://youtu.be/sKTck_Xbuyc

Alternatively, if the clock were one of those ball clocks that you see at various science museums, or some other super unusual mechanism, that might be compelling enough for me to buy such a clock.

The very first thing such a clock maker should admit to themselves is that nobody would be buying the clock to tell time. It's simply too easy to tell time by other means nowadays. What they're selling decoration that makes an homage to the history of telling time. So they should design accordingly.

This is not to say that it is okay for them to completely abandon accurate time-keeping. I'd say that they should have a networked electronic clock onboard and a correction mechanism that checks and sets the mechanical system if it drifts even a minute off from what the electronic clock indicates. The clock should be absolutely hassle free. The electronic system should even handle daylight savings time and setting the mechanical system to the local time.

If there were a visually interesting mechanical clock that self-corrected based on a hidden electronic clock, and it were able to 1) reliably start conversations with every person who sees it, and 2) mesmerize everyone who looks at it and keep their attention captive for a few minutes, THAT is a grandfather clock that would sell well even if it were priced like art.

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- Sean Thackston
  
  Austin Liu
  
  6 years ago
  
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  That sounds awesome Austin. I think you're right too. If you price it like art, people will stand up and take notice. It's all about finding the right audience, and someone with a large disposable income, connected to the art scene seems like just the type of person who would buy what you describe.
  
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