¶ Plumbing
Index Entry
Many scientists live in houses-- they look at the plumbing, often find that the plumbing isn’t working, twiddle the knob, and send for the plumber. You know as architects that you do not design the plumbing which you buy. You design the superficial use and arrangement of fixtures which are designed by non-architects and manufactured by commerce for you. You are free only to choose the coloring of the bathroom tiles and the coloring of the fixtures. But what goes on back of the bathroom tile is not part of the architectural design. Even if you studied ‘plumbing’ and detailed the pipe layouts, your design would not be followed or even looked at. The layout would be as dictated by the plumbers’ scientifically illiterate craft code and frequent whimsy.
The fact is that the plumbing system and the sewer system and the aqueduct system have not been importantly changed for 4,500 years. Only one improvement in the system was made, 100 years ago, in England. That was the development of the roof vented plumbing stack and water seal in plumbing fixtures to keep the sewer gases from entering the house.
