ARCH554 Specs Studio
Levi Brausey
The 20th century magazine for architects and draftsmen, Pencil Points, presented the design community with a monthly edition filled with ads that impacted the writing of aluminum specifications by providing examples to copy and directing the audience to applicable office manuals. These examples were used to promote products of economically successful companies and aided in Alcoa’s dominance in the construction industry, resulting in the monopoly like status acknowledged in the USA vs. Alcoa case (1938). By dissecting the anatomy of these ads, it is evident that they changed to address a new audience as a result of this case.
USA vs. Alcoa
Case Details
Alcoa has been dominant in the production of aluminum since 1902. At the beginning of the 20th century, Alcoa fluctuated from producing 60% up to 92% of the aluminum ingot available for sale in the USA (not including recycled aluminum). Alcoa's main competition was technically itself. They made enough aluminum products to lower the cost of virgin aluminum ingot. The judge deemed a lawful monopoly that was thrust upon Alcoa solely by demand and the difficulty of the refining process dissuading competition. It was stated that the monopoly should be broken to benefit the economy of the US. WWII put this action on hold and Alcoa increased production to meet the defense needs of the state. The government built facilities and leased them to Alcoa, but when peace time came, changes needed to be made. By 1950, they were sold to Alcoa's competition at a fraction of the cost to equalize the monopoly.
