Plattegrond c. 1864

This architectural drawing called "Plattegrond" (ground plan) was made by Willem Springer Jr. The drawing is made with ink on paper. You can see the grain of the paper, the way the ink bleeds slightly into it, and the way the paper is torn at the top. This kind of ground plan is a technical drawing, showing the layout of a building’s foundation, or the internal arrangement of rooms. What's interesting here is the suggestion of labor. There is no evidence of digital tools, only the hand-drawn lines that trace a design idea. The level of detail and precision, especially the symmetrical layout, shows how much work went into the architectural design. We can appreciate the way the social and economic conditions shape our visual environment.